See You Again
by Paranoixa
Summary: When Zoetta comes to town, Ponyboy's world is turned upside down. For the first time in his life, he's falling for someone. And, to make matters worse, that someone happens be the kid cousin of Dallas Winston. How will he manage his crush on a silly girl with too much adrenaline to be healthy that manages to open his eyes beyond Grease vs Socs?
1. Girls With Greens Eyes and Daggers

**Based on Wiz Kalifha and Charlie Puth song.**

It was an unseasonly warm day. The gang had gathered at Dally's new place, hoping to cash in on some of the cool air that had somehow escaped the heat wave. They had waited for about an hour and thirty minutes before he showed up with a broken nose and black eye. No one questioned him. They were used to him walking around like that. That and they were too preoccupied with the promise of cool air to really care.

"That's better" Soda sighed, plopping down on the couch. "Oh, yeah, I could get used to this."  
Darry rolled his eyes but soon found himself in a similar position in a chair. "Dont get too comfortable. We're only staying for an hour, then we're leaving."  
"I guess we could say the same for you, big guy. You look like you're about to nod off" Steve noted.

Two-Bit snorted and said "man, if I lived in a house like this, I think I'd die happy."  
Ponyboy's mind drifted away from the conversation then. He was too busy taking in the new place. It was certainly better than any house he'd been in. Not that there were many, but still.

Dally, who caught sight of his wandering eyes, smirked. "You like" he asked.

"Mm hm" came his reply. "It's pretty nice."  
"Yeah, and the rent's not too bad either."  
Ponyboy nodded then started to look around. He didnt have to worry about Dally getting upset at him for snooping around because they always did that. There was nothing to hide.

At least that's what he thought.

When he passed a room, he had to do a double take. Ponyboy knew Dally had the reputation of running through girls like they were a car wash, but he was totally unprepared when he found a girl his age lying in a bed. She had hair the color of mapel syrup and olive colored skin. She wore an orange t-shirt, a red-checkered jacket, baggy grey jeans, and some pretty beat up brown leather boots. The look on her face was peaceful.

And with that thought, Ponyboy's face caught fire. Feeling a bit like a creep, he started to turn around. Unfortunately, the floor creaked, causing the girl's eyes to flutter open.

It was pretty ironic that Dally called for him at that moment. Probably remembering he had someone in his bedroom, Pony figured as he stared at the girl, who had big green eyes.

"Hey" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Um...Hey."  
And then suddenly there was the thunder of feet on wooden floors coming from behind him. "Pony, I-"  
"Who's that" Steve interuppted as everyone else watched with confused eyes.

Dally sighed and said "nobody."  
The girl raised an eyebrow and said, sarcastically, "nobody? Seriously, Dallas, I thought what we had was special."

Darry sent Dally a slightly disturbed look that said, _are you kidding me?_

"I'm sorry" Soda spoke up. "But how old are you?"  
"Uh, thirteen. 'Bout to be fourteen." Then, her eyes suspicious, "why?"

Everyone turned to Dally, demanding an answer.

"She's my cousin and she's gonna be staying with me for a while. That's why I moved" he said, shaking his head. "Glory, can you people jump to conclusions. See a girl in my bed and you automatically think-"  
"As much as I would love to sit here and be bombarded with questions" the girl said, crawling to her feet. "I've got stuff to do. See you later, Dallas."

"You're going out" Dally asked.

"Yeah. You know where I get a good candy bar around here?"  
"Yeah. Pony, can you take her?"  
Ponyboy frowned. He did not want to spend any more time with the girl he'd been watching sleep than he had to. But before he could say no, Two-Bit spoke up. "Sure, he can" he said, with a humorous look in his eyes. "While you're there, pick me up a pack, okay?"  
He opened his mouth to argue but then Darry was speaking up. "Yeah, and while you're out, can you pick up some cake mix. I think we're almost out."  
He stared at him, feeling a pang bit betrayed, before he felt himself being shoved out the room and out of the house. Before the door closed, though, he caught sight of Johnny giving him a thumbs up with a sympathetic smile.

. . .

The walk was awkward for Pony. He wanted to say as little as possible but the girl seemed to have other plans. She asked a lot of questions about Tulsa, Oklahomah, and talked a lot. Sometimes she'd point out something he'd never given a second glance, like a rusty old fire hydrant, or a bird's nest, or a building on the verge of collapse, or the dew on grass, or stars, or swimming, or the moon, or trees, or clouds. Clouds and stars he could somewhat understand where she was getting at. But the others sounded like a bunch of hippie stuff.

"What about you" she asked.

The sudden turn of conversation took him by surprise. "What?"  
"What about you?"  
"What about me?"  
"What do you like to do?"  
"Uh...Write. Read. Gymnastics."  
Her eyes widened. "You can read?"  
For some reason, he felt heavily insulted by this. Was she implying that he couldnt. "Yeah" he muttered. Then, wanting to turn the tables on her, said "can you?"  
She shook her head.  
His anger faded. "Really?"  
"Nope. I couldnt afford it." She shrugged. "But no biggie. As long as I can draw, I'm all good."  
"Oh."  
She frowned and looked ahead. "Who's that?"  
Ponyboy tensed then. It was a Soc car. And they were at least three blocks away from Dally's place. "Be quiet" he hissed.  
"What?"  
"Just dont say anything and keep your head down."  
He expected her to question him like Two-Bit said girls usually did when they were being hassled. But instead, the girl simply crossed her arms and watched as the van rolled up to them.

Three boys, two girls. All drunk. Ponyboy sighed and squared his shoulders. Nothing he couldnt handle.

"This is our turf" he said crossly.

The boy in the driver's seat chuckled. "Oh, I aint here for you" he sneered. Then he smiled seductively at the girl. "I'm here to talk to your new honey."  
"What?"  
"You dont look too bad for someone who hangs out with this trash" the boy continued. "Dont think I seen you around here before. You new?"  
"What's it to you?"  
Ponyboy elbowed her softly. If things went south, she could run and go get help. But if she said the wrong thing, it wasnt likely he'd be able to protect the both of them.

"You got a little fire. I like that. What do you say you come and ride with my pals here?"  
"How about...no?"  
His smile fell. "'Scuse me?"  
"Are you deaf? I said no."  
"You're about to blow your ride" he warned with a dangerous tone. "Now, you could pass for one of us. Some new clothes and you're all set. But I dont want us to get off on the wrong foot. Now, let's try that again. What do you say you come and ride with my pals here?"  
"And let me say it again" the girl said, annoyed. "No. Now, if you dont mind." She grabbed Ponyboy's arm and started to walk away. The boy must have been frozen in shock because a whole minute passed before the car pulled a complete U-ey and pulled up beside them.

"Hold up, now." The three boys got out of the car, the girls giggling on the inside, and stood in front of them.

"What?"  
"Who do you think you are talking to me like that" the boy snapped.

"Not your daily pick up" came her reply.

One of the other boys steppped forward. "I'd watch my mouth if I were you. I dont think your little boyfriend here is gonna be able to take all of us to protect you."  
She raised her eyebrows as if to say _oh yeah? _ Then she reached into one of her boots and pulled out a medium sized, five inches maybe, silver dagger. "Who says I need protecting" she asked innocently.

All at once, the color drained from the boys faces.

"Now, I dont particularly like getting my dagger here all messy. So how about you three just run on along and leave us be? I'd hate to cause a scene."  
The boys turned to each other before hurriedly rushing back to the van. In less than a minute, they were gone.

"Wow."  
The girl slipped her dagger back into her boot. "I would never use this" she muttered, noticing Ponyboy's expression. "It's just a gift somebody gave me and I'd like to hang onto it."

"Right."

"Is it always like that around here?"  
Ponyboy nodded. "You'd better make sure you keep that thing hidden. I bet Two-Bit would love to get his hands on that."  
She nodded and tucked her pants leg in the boot containing the dagger. "You got a name?"

Ponyboy sighed. _Here it comes, _he thought glumly. "Ponyboy Curtis."  
She smiled. "That's pretty. Mine is Zoetta. Some people call me Zoe. Or Dagger." She tapped her foot against the black pavement. "For obvious reasons."

He nodded. "What should I call you then?"

She shrugged. "Anything but Zoetta."

He looked up then and found they'd arrived at the corner store. "Well, Zoe, looks like we're here."  
She smiled wide. "And they have candy bars?"  
"Sure do."  
"Awesome."

Ponyboy couldnt help but smile back at her as she rushed into the store. So maybe they hadnt started off on a good note. But they were getting there. Slowly. But surely.


	2. Late Night Thoughts

As he laid in bed that night, Soda's arm drapped over him, Ponyboy's mind was racing. He'd spent the entire day with Zoe but still didnt know what to think of her. Soda had claimed that it was because he didnt have enough "experience." And maybe that was it. But it also had something to do with the fact that she was DALLY WINSTON's kid cousin. Dally didnt seem like the overly possessive type, but Ponyboy knew looks didnt mean anything. The same went for Darry, who seemed so much like a rock sometimes that it was hard to believe that he just as often held him as he shook from a nightmare as Soda did. When the time came, Ponyboy knew he could count on Darry. That probably went for Dally.

And, no, he was not thinking of hooking up with Zoe. There were so many things wrong with her. She dressed like a dude, she didnt know when to shut the hell up, she was loud, she drew too much attention to herself, and she had _green_ eyes. Of all things!  
But dispite all that, the gang insisted that he had a thing for her. It was just one of those times when, no matter what he said, absolutely no one listened to him. Of course Johnny hadn't said anything, but the look in his eyes suggested something he really didnt want to think too hard about.

Ponyboy turned onto his side and pulled the cover blanket to him, trying to block out the world.

There were certain things he wasnt comfortable with. And, believe it or not, reality was not one of them. Maybe that was why he and Johnny got along so well. Johnny liked to think about the present and "what ifs". He liked to think, like _really_ think. All short term, though. Nothing within a couple weeks from where they were standing. That was where Cherry came into play. She had her life figured out, knew what she was gonna do. And she thought. Not quite like Johnny, but more than others Socs. And not like Greasers. She was a realist. She never did anything without thinking how it'd effect her, even if she'd later disregard the warning her brain had sent her. Which was why he didnt always feel too comfortable around her. Around either of them. Johnny dispised reality; Cherry cherised it.

And maybe that why he didnt want to get too involved with Zoe. She was niether, but she was also not both. He'd only known her for a couple of hours but he could already see how her brain operated. She revolved around this world where reality and imagination lived together in an organized system. The battle of dominace, he'd noticed, was infinite. Sometimes, she'd drop out of conervsation and just stop and think. It had scared the shit out of him, quite frankly, the first time. But then she'd hop back in, after ten minutes, as if nothing had happen. Other times, she just start rattling on about "hippie stuff", as he dubbed it, or something crazy like crawl up a tree and start _singing_. Yes, he decided, after much thought. That was it. He was wary of her. Not because of her realtions to Dally. And certainly not because of the dagger she was sporting. No. It was because of her sense of peace. The fact that she was so sure of herself, of her position in the worlrd, of her purpose, of everything. She'd stood in the face of a van full of Socs two times her sized and had stared them down with an unfliching stare. She'd slept in the bed of Dallas Winston, one of the toughest, meanest, emotionless guys he'd ever seen. She woken up to a stranger watching her sleep and had simply replied "hey." She'd moved to a new town and didnt seem to feel the least bit out of place. She was the exact opposite of him; she was perfectly comfortable in her own odd, deranged skin.

And he hated her for it.

**I know it was short but I had to put this in there! If you've read some of my other stories, you know I love to put dudes on a frustrating path of decoding the mystery that is FEMALES! Ha ha, I'm an asshole. Special thanks to Aria, Greasrer Girl 73, fictionfangirl1, and yolie841. Updates will be every Friday! Hopefully...**


	3. Rainbow Goodness!

It was Darry's idea to have Ponyboy walk Zoetta to the public pool. Which meant that, in some sense, everything that happened afterwards is sort of(totally) his fault. But of course Ponyboy cant say that now. Not with the entire gang laughing their asses off as he desperately tried to scrub the paint off of Zoe. Without accidentily brushing his hands against one specific area of her body, of course.

. . .

Ponyboy probably should have known that taking Zoe to the pool was a bad idea. He and Johnny generally tried to avoid pools at all cost. There were three pools in Tulsa. One was in Soc territory, so that was obviously a no-go. Then there was the one knee-deep in greaser territory, which was so often to have a fight that there was often blood tainting the pool instead of chlorine. Lastly, there was the one in mid-territory. People who didnt care about the social statuses, or were so stupid that they didnt even know they existed, usually lounged there. And, for a little while, Pony had thought he'd found an escape. But even when he went there, he felt the eyes, the judgement, the pity and sometimes outright disgust. After one lady actually called him out about being some hoodlum, he had taken to avoiding pools altogether. Save it for the beach, he told himself.

But, of course, Pony hadnt had the chance to think of any of this until he and Zoe were heading into the Forbidden Zone. He had been chilling in his room when Dally dropped by, asking if he wouldnt mind "baby-sitting" Zoe for a little bit. And by "asking", I mean dropping her off at their door-step like she was a freaking box of kittens or something. So when Darry marched in his room and told him to take her to the pool, it took a little while for him to explain the lunatic outside. And Ponyboy couldnt exactly come up with a good reason why he didnt want to spend the day at the pool so, grumbling, he merely snatched a pair of shorts out of his laundry basket and stomped out of the house. It occured to him that maybe he should have told Zoe where they were going. And maybe if he had, she wouldnt have needed to borrow a bathing suit. And maybe if she had had a bathing suit, she wouldnt be covered, head to toe, in paint.

But he hadnt.

And so when they arrived at the pool, he just assumed the reason she was hesitating to go into the locker room was because she was nervous. So he simply said "meet me by the lifeguard tower when you're done", and rushed into the boy's locker room.

Another reason he didnt like the pool was because the locker room was the equilvalent of a post apocolyptic war zone. Not too long before, the Socs had owned this pool. And, given that they had nothig better to do, they usually set off fire crackers or stuff like that. The result was a severly damaged locker room. Not so bad as it had to be condemned, but it wasnt exactly in tip-toe shape either. So, if he seemed to be in a rush to get out of there, he probably was. The gang used to make fun of him because of it, but he was sure they wouldnt be laughing when they caught mold-poisoning.

When he emerged from the locker room, Zoe wasnt by the lifeguard tower. And after ten minutes passed, he sighed and walked over to the lifeguard. "Miss? Uh, have you seen a girl?"  
The lady eyed him then said "son, there are a lot of girls here. You're gonna have to be a little more specific."  
"Oh, right. Um, she kind of looks like a hillbilly."

The lady chuckled then said "oh, her. She's around here somewhere, looking for a spare swim-suit." Then she frowned. "Didnt you tell her she would need one?"  
Ponyboy thought back to the very detailed conversation they'd had, sure he had mentioned it somewhere:

_"Ponyboy?"_  
_"Zoe?"_  
_"Where we going?"_  
_"A place."_  
_"Okay."_  
How could he have let it slip in a well thought out conversation like that?  
"Uh, do you know where she went? Exactly?"  
"Probably in the old shop. I think there's a sell today."  
Ponyboy nodded, said a shy "thank you", then speed walked over to the old shop. He peered in the windows and found only the man at the front dek inside. Then he walked around it and found Zoe smiling extra wide.

"Hey, Ponyboy."  
The glint in her eyes sent a shiver down his spine. "Hey, Zoe. Have you found a suit yet?"  
"What? Oh, no. But come here. I found something even better." She bent down and pulled a duffel bag out from under the table where swim suits were being displayed. "Alright, guess first."  
"I dont know. Cookies?"  
Zoe giggled then reached in the bag. "No, silly. PAINT."

Ponyboy raised an eye at the medium sized pail of paint in her hand. "Where did you get that" he demanded, suddenly fearful.

"Well, I-"  
"Did you steal it?"  
The aura of happiness faded. She narrowed her eyes and said "no. I bought it from that guy in there."  
His shoulders slumped. "Oh."  
"Yeah. 'Oh.'"

He shuffled his feet and asked "maybe you should...give it back."  
Zoe's frown deepened. "Why?"  
"Well...I just dont think it's a great idea to be walking around with paint. And what would you do with it anyway?"  
"Draw."  
"On?"  
"The ground."  
"That's tagging. And you can get fined for that kind of stuff. Go give it back." He reached for the pail, only to have her take a step by.

"Ponyboy, it's just paint" she said. "I'm not hurting anybody."  
"I know that, but the cops dont. So just go give it back."  
"No way. He said no refunds and, I just spent MY money on it. I'm gonna get something out of this."  
"Yeah, if you plan to spend a month in jail."  
"Nowhere I havent already been."  
"What-"  
"Look, how about this? I'm gonna go back to Dallas's place and 'tag' for a bit. If you wanna have some fun, come and join me. But if not, then fine. Just dont tell anyone."  
Ponyboy glared at her, infuriated. The fact that he'd wasted his time, and dignity, walking over to the pool just to have her blow off their plans irked him something good. He hadnt even wanted to come here in the first place! So why was he so bent on keeping her out of trouble.

_Because if you dont, Dally'll crack your neck for getting his kid cousin arrested on her first week back home_, a voice told him. Sighing deeply he reached for the pail again. When she stepped away again he felt anger course through him. "Zoe, GIVE ME THE PAIL!"

Pony didnt wait for her to respond; instead, he leaped forward and got a good grip on the pail. Zoe saw it coming, though, and raised it above her head. And maybe it wasnt such a good idea for him to try to snatch it out of her hands, but he wasnt thinking about that. If he let her get away with that paint, he'd never hear the end of it. So ponyboy jumped in the air and tried to get a good grip on the pail. And he did. But Zoe probably didnt expect that because all of a sudden, the pail was leaning. Both of their eyes widened as a diversity of colors came pouring down on Zoe. The shock of the turn of the situation made Pony lose control of his limbs, so he kept his arms suspended in the air, unintentionally dumping at least ten pounds of paint on his new "friend."

An eternity passed before the last of the paint finally dripped out of the pail. Another eternity passed before Ponyboy finally lowered his hands, not quite grasping what had happened.

It was Zoe who spoke first. Calmly, almost too calmly, she wiped her eyes and peered out at Ponyboy. Then she smiled softly. "Well" she said, flicking away a blob of paint. "That happened."

. . .

"What did you do, take a bath in a rainbow?"

Soda had been sitting on the couch when the two arrived. At first, he just stared at them, looking slightly disturbed. And then a smile broke out. And then he started laughing. And then the rest of the gang magically appeared and stared. Then smiled. Then started laughing. And after helping Zoe rinse off a good eighth of the paint at the kitchen sink, he snatched her hand and rushed into the bathroom.

"This is all your fault, you know that right" he muttered, searching the cabinets for a washcloth.

"My fault" Zoe asked, grinning a little. "I fail to see how this is in any way my fault."

He sighed and turned to face her. "You kidding, right? Where are the freaking rags? What made you even buy paint in the first place? And who sells PAINT at a POOL?"  
She shrugged and said "I got a good deal out of it. Talk about the best paint job ever!"  
"Oh, really?" Pony smiled sweetly and walked out of the room. "Then I guess you wont mind keeping that little paint job."

"No, I wouldnt actually. How about you?"  
It took him about two seconds for him to realize what she meant. And when he figured it out, he took off into a sprint. But he was about half a mili-second too late because Zoe simply passed him up and blocked his way.

"Zoe" he warned, his voice dangerous. "Stay away from me."  
"But why" she asked, taking a step forward, prompting Pony to step back. He was highly aware that the gang could see the two squaring off.

"Because I said so."  
"That's not a good enough reason for me." And with that, Zoe jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Ponyboy froze at the paint smooshig up against him, blushing at the hooting and hollering in the backround. But when Zoe stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss on his cheek, he staggered backwards. She giggled innocently and said "that's a nice mark you got there, macho-man."

And that was the last thing he heard, for he had shot out of the door. And, after wandering around for a bit with a building rage, he began to think of her comment. Eyes widening, Ponyboy rushed across the street and peered into a car window. Sure enough, there was the mark of a kiss on his cheek, the color of a slightly muddy rainbow. He wiped the offending mark off his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt and started walking again. Only when he was sure he was only did he let out a frustrated scream.

**Aw, poor Ponyboy! He he, it'll get better. Not really.**

**Special thanks to Pony'sgirlfriend, Greaser Girl 73, Aria, The Not-So Average Nerdy Girl, fictionfangirl1, and yolie841! Thanks so much for your support! Check out some of my other stories if you have the time!**


	4. Jealousy

**Sorry for the delay! Oh and, happy Memorial Day! And I know I forgot to say this but in this story, everything that happened in the book happened but Johnny and Dally are alive.**

"I hate her."  
Johnny turned to Ponyboy with an amused expression. "What?"  
"I hate her" he repeated. "With a deep, deep passion."  
"Zoe? Naw, man, she's brilliant."  
Ponyboy groaned. "Not you too, Johnny."  
"I know you think she's a lunatic but she's actually pretty cool. We went to this drive-in movie last night and-"  
"Wait, what?"  
"She asked me to take her to a drive-in movie last night. Said she's never been to one, if you can believe it. Anyway, I guess the tape was busted or something cause the movie never aired. So then some dude starts playing his boom box, right? And Zoe started _dancing_. Like really dancing, like she's James Brown or something. And then _everyone_ started dancing. It was really something."  
The whole time Johnny was talking, Ponyboy had been silent. "Everything alright" he asked, softly.

"Yeah but...He seemed to be considering his words. "Why...Why did she ask _you_ to take her to the drive-in?"  
Johnny stared at his friend with a knowing smile. "Maybe because the guy who's supposed to be showing her around is acting like a tool."  
His face caught fire. "I am not."  
"Pony, you've been avoidning her for days."  
"I think I have a good reason to. She's a lunatic."  
"Uh huh. So why are you so interested in Zoe?"  
Ponyboy paused, his eyes suddenly everywhere aside from Johhny's accusing eyes. "I'm not. I'm just... making conversation." He kicked a rock down the asphalt.

Johnny nodded. "Okay." He was good at dropping conversations no one else wanted to talk about.

Unlike Ponyboy. "So...So was that it? Or did you guys do anything else?"  
"Well, we hung around the lot some after that. She digs stars too, you know?  
"Yeah, yeah, but what else?"  
"Nothing really. We just walked around and talked. Mostly her. She certainly talks a lot."  
"What'd you guys talk about?"  
A smile tug the corners of Johnny's lips. "Silly stuff. Like grass and music."  
Ponyboy seemed to loosen up. "Oh. Really?"  
"Yeah."  
"...Good."  
"So, are we done with the interrogation, or can we go pick up those burgers already?"  
Ponyboy rolled his eyes then said "race you there!" before taking off into a sprint.

. . .

Ponyboy hadnt even been all the way through the door yet before he found himself being hauled over to the couch, where an amused looking Darry sat.

"What's going on" he muttered, crossing his arms.

"You" Soda said, joining the two on the couch. "You and Zoe, to be exact."  
He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"You cant deny it forever" Darry said, chuckling.

"I see a spark when yall are together."  
"You should probably get some glasses then. I dont think that's healthy."  
Darry and Soda shared a look then turned back to him, their faces feigining seriousness.

"Take her to go see the Birds" Darry reccomended. "They're doing a special screening all week, you know."  
"Yeah, I know" Ponyboy grumbled bitterly. "_Johhny_ tried to take her to go see it last night."

Soda smirked. "Johnny?"  
"Yeah. _Johnny_."

"What's wrong with that" Darry asked. "You two are always taking girls to go see movies."  
"Yeah but _Johnny _took _Zoe_ to go see this movie."  
"And that's a problem because..."  
He glared at his two older brothers, desperately trying to get them to see why this was so wrong. "Because" he repeated. "_Johnny._ Took _Zoe._ To go see. A _movie_." He stared at their faces, frustrated that they still didnt understand. "Oh, forget it! I dont want her watch a movie with me anyway." And with that, he stormed past them and into his bedroom.

He knew he was acting weird. He just didnt know why. It had something to do with Zoe, though. Slamming his door shut and falling face first on hisbed, he groaned._ Everything _had to do with Zoe.

"Pony? Can I come in?"

Too busy trying to decipher his thoughts, he couldnt tell who it was. But, at the moment, he really didnt care. He just wanted to be alone. "Go away" came his muffled reply.

Not so surprisingly, the door opened a second later. "Pony?"  
"Leave me alone."

The bed leaned down some and someone put a rough hand on his shoulder. "Pony. Look at me."

_Darry_, he decided before he even sat up. Soda would have never forced him to talk. "What?"  
All the humor was gone from Darry's face. "You know we gotta talk, right?"

"I'm fine" Ponyboy muttered, dreading what was to come. Ever since he and Darry had negotiated peace, they'd been having more serious talks. They knew Soda both loved and hated seeing the two talking alone, but figured it was for his own good. He needed to see that they were that close. And it that meant sometimes one had to force the other into it, well damn, that's just how it was.

"Pony. It's okay if you like Zoe."  
"But I _dont_."

As if seeing that going this way wasnt going to get him anywhere, Darry changed his strategy. "Okay...Are you mad at Johnny?"  
That got his attention. He shifted his eyes to meet his and, confusedly, asked "What?"  
"Are you mad at Johhny?"  
"Johnny? I-What? No. Why would I be mad at Johnny?"  
"You just seemed upset that he took Zoe to the movies."  
"I'm not upset. I just dont like that he did it."  
"So, you're not mad?"  
"...Well. I guess I am a_ little _mad. But not at Johnny."

"So at Zoe?"

"...Well, I'm always mad at her."  
"Why?"  
"Cause-Cause she's irratating."  
Darry stared at his brother, smiling. Just a little bit.  
"Why are you smiling" Ponyboy spat. "None of this is funny!"

"Pony, you're not mad at Johnny for taking Zoe to the drive-in."

He just glared at him, still not quite understanding the point of the conversation.

"You're_ mad _because Johnny took Zoe to the drive-in."

Once again, confusion fell over his face. He quietly said "but that doesnt make any sense."  
"Ponyboy" Darry said, trying to _desperately _get this in his little brother's head. "You like Zoe. And you're jealous that Johnny's hanging out with her."

A few seconds passed before his tensed shoulders relaxed. Then he blushed deeply. "Oh, crap."


	5. Will You Go Out With Me?

It took a while for Ponyboy to get the nerve to ask Dally to ask Zoe to come over. For a couple days, he just wallowed in misery. Then he, Soda, and Darry had a three sided conversation that only included Soda and Darry and decided he should probably ask the little lunatic over for dinner. After another few days of wallowing, he managed to get Dally to pass the message onto Zoe that he wanted her to come over for a surprise. Tuesday night, it was decided, Ponyboy would ask her to be his girlfriend.

And as terrifying as the thought was, he couldnt wait. He'd never had these kind of feelings before. Never wanted to actually take a girl out on a fancy date and ask her out. Of course a fancy date meant his brothers serving them hot dogs clumsily cut into smaller hot dogs( hors d'oeuvres. At least, that's what he thought they were trying to make) and corny music playing from the radio. But, still, it made him all tingly inside.

So when Tuesday night rolled around, he made sure everything was perfect. He'd taken three showers that day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one thirty minutes before she arrived. For good luck. After that, he ran through the house and made sure everything was tidy and neat. When that was done, he ran to the bathroom and made sure his hair wasnt too greasy(for once) and brushed his teeth for the fourth time in the past hour. While he was doing this, Soda rushed in and shook hsi head.

"What are you doing?"  
"Two-Bit said nothing ruins a relationship like smelly breath" Ponyboy said through muffled speech.

"Well, I think not wearing a condom could beat it, but what do I know" he shrugged then smiled. "You know, if you brush too hard, you'll bust you gums open. Bloody gums might be worse than anything you could dish out on her."  
"Well, I'll be a guy with bloody gums and minty fresh breath."  
He rolled his eyes. "Seriously. You're worrying too much. Everything's gonna be fine."  
Ponyboy looked at his brother through the mirror. "You sure the gang's not coming over, right?" Another requirement he had set was for the gang to not be over when he asked Zoe out. After everything that had happened between the two, he wanted to be alone if he somehow managed to scare her off somehow.

"Definitely. And knock it off. She'll be here any minute. Do you want her to find you with toothpaste hanging from your lips?"  
As if on cue, the door rang then. Ponyboy quickly spit out the toothpaste and wiped his mouth before rushing to the door. To his disappointment, it was just Two-Bit. "Ugh" he groaned. "You."  
Two-Bit scowled. "Hey yourself." Then he smiled. "Am I interuppting anything."  
He blushed scarlet. "No, not at all."  
"Good. Hey, it's all good!" he called out the door before the rest of the gang rushed in.

"Hey, Pony" Steve said, smiling wide. "Good to see you."  
"Soda!" Ponboy hissed but the guys just ignored him and pushed past him. Johnny, however, just stood at the doorway. Like a vampire.

"I'm sorry" he muttered. "I tried to stop them but-"  
"What am I gonna do now" Ponyboy interuppted him. "She cant come over now!"  
"Why not?"  
"Because they're here! And they're gonna ruin everything."  
"I think I can keep them cool."  
He looked up to meet his eyes. "Johnny, I think it's gonna take a little more than you to hold them off."  
"Well, you cant blow her off now."  
He leaned against the wall beside him as Johnny walked in. "So, what, I just let her come over with them here?"  
He shrugged. "Gang's family. Whacha gonna do without 'em."  
Ponyboy sighed then walked over to the couch. Pretty soon, Dally joined him. "Well, lookit here!" he beamed. The smell of alcohol on his breath was pretty close to burning his face off. "Jr.'s a stud! Who would've thunk!"

"Lay off, Dally" Johnny said, sitting down beside Ponyboy.

"Aw, come on, Johnnycake, I'm just mussing with him. You know that, right, Pony?"

"Uh huh."  
"And you know that's my cousin you're about to mess around with, right?" All the humor left his voice.  
Here it comes. "Uh huh."

"So you know that if you give her something, I'm gonna have to beat your ass, _right_?"

Ponyboy stared at Dally, horrified at the thought. But then, to his relief, someone started knocking at the door. "Hello, hello, hello, anybody home!" a voice called out. He blushed at the voice but nontheless rushed to open the door.

He didnt know what he expected. A stunning silky red dress or something. He himself had even dressed up for the occasion: his best pair of jeans, a black shirt, and Darry's old work shoes. But Zoe simply wore a soft yellow sun dress with jeans underneath it, her sweater, absolutely NO shoes, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her green eyes, however, completed the look. Excited, as always.

"Hey, Ponyboy" she greeted, hopping from one foot to the other in a strange jig. "Fancy meeting you here. And here I thought you were fixing to have a restraining order filed against me."

Pony sighed. "Yeah..."  
She rolled her eyes then, almost bouncing, she walked over to the couch. Dally and Johnny had joined the others in the kitchen area. Pretending not to be listening, probably.

"So, you called me over" she asked as Pony joined her.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something-"  
"You know Billy Joel" she suddenly asked.

He just stared at her. "This song" she said, smiling wide. "I love this song!" Then, very quietly, she began to sing in a soft, sweet voice "sing us a song, you're the Piano Man."  
Ponyboy stared at her, surprised. He didnt know anyone who could sing. "Um..."  
"You know him?"  
"Billy Joel?" He looked over her head and saw Soda moving his fingers in a running motion then pretending to sing. _Run with it, _he seemed to be saying. "Uh, yeah. Who...Who doesnt know Billy Joel?"  
She huffed. "Not as many people as you'd think. Crazy, right?"

He nodded. "Totally."  
"So what's your favorite song?"  
He looked up and found the entire gang pointing at the radio. He must have looked confused because Zoe suddenly whipped her head around. Luckily, they went back to wolfing down the hors d'oeuvres, so nothing looked out of place.

"Your favorite song" she asked again, only slightly susipicious.

"Er..." He glanced at the radio once more. "This one."  
"Piano Man?"  
"Yeah. Piano Man. Just love it."  
"Oh really? When'd you first hear it?"  
Now. "A little while ago."  
Zoe stretched and, to his surprise, laid her legs in his lap. "You know" she said, her eyes deadly serious. "It can take a while to fall in love... with a song."  
Her hesistation, followed by an animalistic smile, made his heart pound. Glory, what was she saying? "Yeah, I know" he replied slowly.

"Anyway, what did you call me over for?" She had scooted closer and was practically snuggled up against him. The way her eyes were distant, though, told him she really didnt think much of this.

"Well" Pony started. "I wanted to talk...about us?"

She smiled, closing her eyes. "What about us?"  
"You know...Apparently, there's a sort of...spark...between us."  
"A spark?"  
"Yeah."  
"Hmm..."  
"So?"  
"So what?"  
"What do you think?"  
"What do I think about what?"  
"About the spark?"  
"A spark? Ponyboy, a spark is just electricity."  
He inhaled deeply, remembering why he'd been so reculant to say he liked her. Then he brushed the thought aside. "Not a literal spark, Zoe. I meant it figuratively."  
She opened her eyes and stared at him, confusedly. "What?"  
Jesus Christ. "It's not a _real_ spark."

"Who lies about getting shocked?"  
"I'm not lying! Zoe..." He stared at her eyes. "Will you go out with me?"  
Silence. Dead silence. Only the sound of his breathing.

Zoe cocked her head to the side, looking even more confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Ponyboy sank a little into the couch. That wasnt the reaction he'd been hoping for. A little squealing, crying, blubbering maybe. But not that. "I wanna know...if you'll go out with me."  
Zoe frowned. "Are you messing wth me, or have you actually lost your mind?"  
He winced and sank deeper into the couch. "No" he said, quietly, blushig when he realized the gang was still watching. He didnt bother looking up. He didnt want their pity. "I just like you a lot and, I want you to be my girlfriend."

Now she just look amused. "Did you hit your head in the time you've been avoiding me?"  
"No...I just...wanna date you."  
Zoe sighed, long and loud, as if teaching a pre-schooler their ABC's for the one hundreth time. "Ponyboy, we're already going out. Silly Billy."

He froze and stared at her. "What?"

"You're my boyfriend. Deal with it."  
"Wait, I am?"  
"Uh, duh! What do you think this is?" She motioned towards their current sitting posistion.

Ponyboy stared at her. "Well, how come how I didnt know about this?"  
She shrugged. "You should ask yourself that."

"But we havent even..." He blushed. "We havent even kissed yet."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "We dont need to kiss to be dating. And, by the way, we have kissed."  
Pony pouted. "That didnt count."  
She shook her head then softly pressed her lips to his. It was short, not even three seconds long, but it left Ponyboy with a smile on his face.

"There" she said, matter-o-factly. "Now, it's official."

**I was trying to get people to think Zoe didnt like Pony, to give it a spice. Did I get you? I get the feeling I did.**

**Special thanks to Bookworm16723, Greaser Girl 73, Haleymay, StarGazingMoonBlazin, UnlimitedPriceless, bookwriter123456, fictionfangirl1, johnnysletter, yolie841, Pony'sgirlfriend, and Aria! This is the most hits I've ever gotten for a sotry so quickly!**


	6. Nothing But Trouble

**As you might have guessed, I might be offline for a bit.**

Things got easier after that. No, Ponyboy was still sure that Zoe was pretty much insane. But it didnt bother him as much as it did before they made their "relationship" official. Yes, at times, it could be overwhelming. But most of the time, Pony found it actually, dare he say, kind of cute. She was like a five year old lost in the mall. But unlike most five year olds, she took it as the oppurtunity for adventure. Danger. _Especially_ danger.

After knowing Zoetta for three weeks, Ponyboy came up with the theory that she had either been adopted, switched at birth, or was an immigrant from a foreign country posing as Dally's cousin. Because, seriously, there was _no way _the two could be related. Zoe had never been to school, but she was just about as thoughtful as anyone else he knew. Dally was more of a _blast first and ask questions_ _never_ kind of guy. Zoe was all giggles and sunshine and junk. Dally was more heaters and cigarettes and darkness. Zoe had the smile of an angel( a pyschotic angel, but whatever). Dally had the smile of Satan. And then there was the fact that they looked nothing alike. The only thing that they had in common was that both had a thing for getting into trouble.

. . .

Zoe didnt understand the whole "Socs and Greasers" thing. In the time that she'd been in Tulsa, she had seen the obvious barrier between the two groups. But she didnt know what to think of it. But after seeing Two-Bit and Steve jumped by the upperclass for the third time, she pulled Ponyboy to the side and asked what was going on.

"It's just a little feud we've got" he mumbled. "Nothing to worry about, though. We can handle them. So dont fret over it, okay?"  
"What are you guys feuding over" Zoe wondered. (The two were in the Middle park and lying in the grass. A cop had stopped by to talk to them about loitering on public property but he left them alone. Something about "this young lady could rub off on you hoods.")

Ponyboy shrugged and said "everything. Cars, girls, schools, looks, blades, anything."  
She frowned and yanked at the grass. "That sounds kind of stupid."  
"Well, it is. I guess. But that's just the way it is."  
"Okay."

Pony smiled, happy that she was dropping the conversation. He looked over to her and found her taking strands of grass and random flowers and crafting them into necklaces, rings, braceelts, and crowns. What a hippie. It was the perfect day for their little "date." The sun was peaking through the canopy of trees hanging over them, there wasnt a cloud in the sky, and the temperature was just perfect. He'd gone to the corner store shortly before meeting her here and bought some candy bars and glass bottles of Root Beer, her favorite. Yup. The perfect date. Now if she could only forget about the Feuds, then maybe-

"So what are you gonna do about it?"  
_Dammit, Zoe._

Ponyboy sighed. "I dunno. What am I supposed to do? It's always been here, and it always will be here."  
"I highly doubt that."  
"You know what I mean. It was here before me, and it'll be here after."  
"Not if you stop it." She yanked some more grass and drizzled some on his face. "I'm sure the African Americans thought they'd never get out of slavery. But they did. Cause they stood up for themselves."

"Well, in case you havent noticed, I'm not black."  
"That's besides the point." Zoe crawled to her feet and started walking.

"Where do you think you're going?"  
She continued walking, and called out over her shoulder "to prove a point."  
Grumbling to himself, Pony stood up and ran over to her. "And how are you gonna do that?"  
"Well, you say Tulsa is divided. 'Socs, Greasers, and the Middle folk'."  
"Yeah, so?"  
"So, we break down that barrier, and half the problem's solved."  
"...You really think you're gonna be able to stop a feud that's been going on for years?"  
"Nah." Zoe turned to him and smiled that insane smile of hers. "I'm just bored and feel like irratating the skin off of somebody ."  
He stopped walking then. Being a boyfriend came with responsibilities. And one of those responsibilities was to make sure your girlfriend didnt get her ass handed to her. But he was also a Curtis. And he couldnt get into trouble. So what was he supposed to do? Risk losing the difficuly, but contempt life he had? Or save his girlfriend (golly he loved that word) from her inevitable doom?

"Hey, babycakes."  
Ponyboy looked up and saw Zoe watching him from about five yards away. "You coming or what?"

He debated with himself for a while. Curtis? Boyfriend? Curtis? Boyfriend? Curtis?

Pony smiled and walked over to Zoe. Boyfriend it was, then.

. . .

"What exactly are we doing?"  
"We are going to make history!"  
"And by that you mean..."  
"Just walk around for a bit."  
He relaxed a little. That didnt sound too hard. What did he expect her to do, walk up to a Soc and bust his face open? "Oh, okay. But we should probably walk around somewhere else. We're getting pretty close to Soc territory."

"Well, duh. That's the idea, Silly Billy."  
"What?"  
Zoe rolled her eyes and picked a rock off the asphalt. "Walk in their turf."  
"We cant do that."  
"Well, we dont have to. _You_ can go home."  
Ponyboy shook his head. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm gonna leave you here."  
"Then quit your yapping. Look, Dallas told me how you've gotta be careful with the cops. I can respect that. But, hey, so do I. That doesnt me I cant have any fun, though."  
"There's a difference between fun and idiotic danger."  
"I dont care. It's a package deal; you cant have one without the other."  
He sighed deeply then tensed as a Soc rolled passed them. They were getting too close. "Zoe, we need to turn back now. You dont know what these guys can do to a person."  
Zoe just kept walking. "If they bother us, we can take 'em. You told me that you could hold yourself in a fight, and I've got old dagger with me. Anybody give us some trouble, we show 'em what we got."  
"And if the cops show?"  
She closed her eyes, thinking. After a minute, she opened them and looked around. "There's an abandoned apartment down on Naper Street. If the cops start hassling, book it to there. Wait for thirty minutes. If I'm not there by then, go get Dallas. And if you dont, I'll get your brothers."  
Ponyboy nodded glumly. It was good that they had a backup plan. But it was pretty bad that they were gonna have to get the gang involved in case anything happened.

Thirty minutes passed and the two had settled into deep Soc territory. The most trouble they'd had, though, had been the dirty, if somewhat, suprised looks people were giving them.

"Are they always this intense?"  
"Yeah" Pony said quietly. "And keep your voice down. We dont want to draw attention to ourselves."  
"I'd hate to tell you this, but I think we do that by just existing."  
"This was a bad idea, anyway. We should just turn around and go home."  
"I'm not going. I'm staying right here."  
"Zoe-"  
"Ponyboy, I cant-"  
"No, we are leaving right _now_." He snatched her hand and started to walk in the other direction.

"Ponyboy, I'm not in the mood to argue back and forward with you."  
"Niether am I. Now hush up. We're leaving."  
"To where?"  
"Your place. Dally said he picked up a T.V. It'll be fun."  
"If we have to leave, lets go to your place."  
He started walking faster, noticing a red Ford behind them. "Why?"  
"Cause I dont like to be at the house. Dally always has someone over, and it's not my idea of a good time to watch him slobber over half naked girls."  
Pony stopped walking then. He hadnt considered what it must have been like to live with Dally. He'd once heard the two talking a few days after she moved in. "I got one rule in this house, Zoe. And that's your curfew. You cant just come in whenever you please. I'm a busy guy, I got things to do. You can be outside for as long as you want. You wanna get some sleep, you come here no sooner than six o' clock , no later than eleven. You miss those hours, you dont come back here. Understand?" Suddenly, Pony could see the bangs under Zoe's eyes. He could picture her, staggering in the house at five a.m. because she didnt have anywhere else to go. Seeing that her spark was gone, he tried to lighten the situation. "Okay, Peanut" he started. The affect was immidiate. In total contrast to him, Zoe loved her pet name. She perked up, just a little, and smiled. "We'll go to my place. Come on."  
"Leaving so soon?"  
Ponyboy tensed at the voice.

"I thought we were gonna have a little fun." The Ford pulled up and opened its front door. A boy about Soda's age stepped out. "Heard about you" he said to Zoe. "I just dont understand why you dont come hang out with us."  
Zoe scowled and crossed her arms. She started to say something but Pony cut her off."And I dont understand why you cant leave us alone."  
The boy smiled. "How about we let the lady do the talking?"

Ponyboy eased closer to her.

"Now, if you didnt want any trouble, what you coming onto our turf for?"  
"You hassle us even when we arent on your turf."  
"Cause you deserve it."  
"Ponyboy-" Zoe's eyes widened.

"It's okay" he reassured her, curious. What happened to the big mouthed girl he'd seen last time they'd been in this position.

The boy stepped forward. "Listen, Grease. I dont want any trouble. You dig? Alright, I just wanna take your little honey out tonight. Show her a good time."  
"She doesnt want that."  
"Ponyboy, we should really-"  
"You should listen to your girl, kid. You're dragging her down. Look at her, she dont deserve this. She deserves a nice fella."  
"What, like you?"  
"Yeah." He reached in his pocket, revealing the handle of a gun. "Like me."  
"COPS!"  
The boy, Zoe, and Ponyboy all took off running in seperate directions. The sirens were blaring from about a block away but seemed to be getting closer. Pony gave Zoe a slight nod before they lost each other.

He dashed across the street and hopped a fence. Panting, he placed his back against it and waited for the squad car to ride past. After half a minute passed, he let himself take a deep breath. Amnd then he saw them. Three Gigantic, huge rotreilers were posted up at the edges of the yard. Like prison dogs. Slowly, Ponyboy moved one foot out and... SNAP! The crack of a tree branch brought them to life. They started barking and came at him from different angles.

"Aw crap."  
It should ahve been illegal to have that many dogs, Ponyboy decided as he tore across the yard. It was just his luck that he had a lot of experience of running from life-threatening situations. Those little monsters were just about to take some bites out of him before he made it to the other end of the yard.

More fences, more dogs, more guys waving guns in his face. Honestly, it's a wonder he made it to the apartment in one piece. The squad car found him again at one point and chased him down for about five blocks before he eventually lost him.

As promised, Pony crashed in the abandoned apartment. He waited approximately sixty one minutes before he got worried. They didnt catch her, did they? No, of course not. She was too smart to get caught. But what if? Naw, she didnt even look like a hood. They wouldnt have a reason to stop her.

He went like that, arguing with himself, for a few more minutes before he crawled to his feet and left the building. He was just deciding to go tell Dally what happened when the squad car pulled up beside him.

And guess who was riding in the back?

"Hey, Ponyboy" Zoe grinned. "Okay, so I know what this looks like. But this is _not _that."

After explaining that she wasnt being arrested, and neither was he, Ponyboy let himself be eased into the car. Even though the situation wasnt funny, he couldnt help but think of what the guys would think when he pulled up in this thing.


	7. Secrets

**This chapter is kind of serious. Not that much humor involved.**

A few more days passed before Ponyboy put any thought onto the advice his older brothers had given him. It was on the last night of it's airing, however, that he decided to take Zoe to go see _The Birds _at the drive-in.

"So you've really never been to a drive-in before" he asked that night, a plastic bag in his hand.

"No" Zoe replied. "We never really had any where I come from. And the ones we did have were out of business and only had busted films."  
He nodded then peered down at his watch. They had about half an hour before the film started. Realizing this, he sped up his steps. "There are probably gonna be a lot of people there."

Zoe smiled and hopped on the curb, balancing like anacrobat on a wire. "So?"  
"Well...You know what people think when they see us together. I just want you to be prepared. Things could get ugly."  
"Things always get ugly" she murmured. "And I always take care of myself just fine."  
"I know" Pony sighed. "I just worry is all."  
"I dont see why. I'm not this delicate little flower you guys think I am."  
"Oh, yeah?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Then what kind of a flower are you?"  
She was quiet for a minute, focusing on keeping her balance. "A venus fly-trap. I may look cute and adorable and cuddly, but I might just snap and bite your head off."  
"Uh huh."  
"No, seriously. I can be pretty life-threatening when I wanna be." She then made a face and brought her fists in front of her face.

"You look about as life-threatening as a five year old. Come on. We should get going. We get better seats if we get there earlier."  
. . .

Most of the seats were taken by the time they got there. The only ones left were all the way in the back, which was perfectly fine with Ponyboy. He wanted as little people seeing them as possible. Which was also why he had went ahead and bought their snacks at the candy store.

"Have you seen this yet" Zoe asked, raising her bottle of Root Beer to her lips.

"No, but a friend of mine did, and she said it's pretty good." He leaned into the bag and pulled out a Hershey bar. "A little scary, though."  
She leaned into his side and said "well, it's a good thing I've got you here to protect me, isn't it.?"

As the film pressed on, Ponyboy couldnt help but throw little sideways glances at Zoetta. It was funny that he'd known her for so little, and yet she had already made this impression on him. For any other girl, it probably would have taken him months to work up the nerve to ask them to go see a movie with him. Movies were his own thing, something he had to enjoy alone. But with Zoe, he felt comfortable. Not the usual feeling that he was being watched.

And then there was the famous cliche of a taking a girl to go see a movie. More than once, he saw Zoe cover her eyes with her hands as the screen showed some poor guy getting pecked to death. By the time the film was halfway over, Pony had his arm wrapped around her, and he could see the fear in her eyes. Something he'd never seen before. And something he hoped he never would see again.

When the credits started to roll off the screen, and the audience began to applaud, Ponyboy suddenly realized, horrified, that they actually were being watched. Their...His kind, Greasers. They sat on the hood of his car, looking like a bunch of neandtherthals as they guzzled down their beer. One of those idiots actually had the nerve to point a finger at them. One of them looked like they'd spent the day sleeping on the sidewalk. Ponyboy shook his head, embarrassed and started to gather his things. Then he noticed Zoe was bouncing, leg from leg. "Um, what are you doing?"  
"I've never sat down for that long before" she answered, irritably. "I need to go do something."  
The laughter from the two morons was louder now, almost hard to ignore. Zoe, however, didnt seem to notice. She looked...frazzled.

"Are you okay" he asked, desperate to keep his attention off the guys on their hood.

"Yeah, I'm just fine."

Ponyboy looked her over. Her hands were twitching, and she was shaking violently.

"Hey, can we go now" she asked. "I'm bored." She closed her eyes then and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Yeah...Are you sure you're okay?"  
"Mm hm. Never better. Come on, lets go." She snatched his hand and started for the exit. Unfortunately, that's where those two morons had parked their car.

Two-Bit smiled down at them and said "well, well, well. I dont believe my eyes. You actually got Pony to take you to a movie."

Steve took another gulp of his beer before adding "must have brainwashed him or something." Then he frowned and looked over Zoe. "What's the matter, Squirt? Had too much sugar?"  
Ponyboy frowned. He had bought a lot of Root Beer. Maybe that was it.

"I'm fine" she stuttered. "W-Why does everyone keep asking me that?"  
The three boys shared a glance. "Hey, Pony" Two-Bit said. "Maybe you should take her home. I get the feeling we're about to have an earthquake if she doesnt calm down."  
He nodded then grabbed Zoe's shoulders and lead her out the drive-in. "Sure thing. Come on Zoe, lets get you home."  
"I told you, D-Dallas wont let me."

"_Was_ it the Root Beer?"

"I-I dont know. B-But I'm fine."  
Ponyboy looked her over again. After a slight hesistation, he swept Zoe over her feet and craddled her in his arms. "Better?"  
She looked ahead. "Where we going?"  
_Deja vu_, he thought before saying "my place."  
Zoe closed her eyes and buried her face in his shoulder. "Or we could walk around for a bit" she protested.

"Can you even walk right now?"  
"Yes. Maybe. Probably."  
"My place it is."

. . .

Soda was asleep when the two came in, but Darry was out of his seat in a minute when he saw Ponyboy carrying Zoe. "What happened?"  
"Nothing" he replied, lying her down on the couch. "She's just a little jumpy."  
Darry crossed his arms. "You guys havent been drinking, have you?"  
"No! All we had was a few Root Beers. I think it was too much sugar."  
The eldest brother looked at the jittery state she was in. "I'll call over Dally. Zoe, lie down and try to get some rest."  
Zoe sighed and said "I'm fine. I dont need any rest."  
He shook his head before walking over to the phone.

Ponyboy looked down at her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "What's going on?"  
She just looked up at him and scowled. "I-I dont wanna talk about it."

"You can tell me."  
"If I do, you're gonna treat me like a crazy person."  
He smiled. "I already do that."

"Zoe."

"Zoetta-"  
She sat up and glared at him. "What I tell you about that?"  
Soda at up from his chair and rubbed his eyes. "Hey, Pony. Hey, Zoe. What's-"  
"I honestly dont see why you're freaking out" Ponyboy snapped. "Is it a bad thing that I'm worried about you?"  
Darry and Soda exchanged a look.

"No, but this has nothing to do with you."  
"You know, when people get into relationships, they're supposed to trust each other."  
"It's not that I dont trust you. I do. More than you think. But this hasnt got anything to do with trust. This." She paused, her eyes unfocused. "This isnt about you."  
"So we're keeping secrets now?"  
"It's not a secret."  
"Then what do you call it?"  
"You talk about me not trusting you, but you dont even trust me."  
"You're dodging my question."  
"And you're dodging reality. Yes, I am keeping secrets, but for a good reason. But you keep secrets too."  
Pony paused. "No, I dont."  
"Dont think I dont know about all that stuff you say about me."

"Before you go and pick a fight with me, make sure you dont have anything you dont want coming out of the dark."  
A car horn blared from outside. Zoe cocked her head to the side before slowly pushing herself off the couch and running out the door.


	8. Malcom's River

**Yeah, this is a sad/scary chapter. And, I know, I'm trying to get my updates back on schedule.**

"And then, she just starts snapping at me and saying that she should be able to have her secrets without me butting in. I mean, I can respect that. Everyone has secrets. But she practically fainted on me! How am I not supposed to get involved? What was I supposed to do just drop her on the ground and let her find her own way back home? Which, by the way, she cant even do 'cause Dally's got this ridiculous curfew for her and-"  
Johnny lit a cigarette and passed it to Ponyboy. "Pony, I think you should calm down. You already know that Zoe's a bit...off."  
"Insane" he muttered, blowing a ring of smoke.

"Exactly."  
"But that's besides the point. I dont expect her to give me her life story, but I expect her to let me know if something's wrong.."  
"She probably just got too excited over the movie" Johnny offered.

Pony sighed and leaned against the side of the house. "No. I get the feeling it was something more than that. Something big."  
"Well, you wanna know what Dally says about girls?"  
He looked over to him. "What?"  
"'If you know she's not pregnant, working for a cop, or cheating on you, let the bitch have as many secrets as she wants.'"

He frowned in concentration. "Well, she's not pregnant. And I dont _think_ she's working for a cop...But there are a lot of Socs that-"  
"Ponyboy, I think you're missing the point. Just drop it. Yeah, she was sick. But it's over now. It's over and done with."  
"How do I know that? How dont I know something's really going on with her?"

Johnny shrugged. "Ask her."  
Ponyboy crossed his arms. "I cant. Dally wont let me anywhere near her."  
He rose an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I think he's convinced I'm responsible for her meltdown."  
"Well, you kind of are."  
He narrowed his eyes. "You're not helping."  
"I'm just saying, if she doesnt want to talk to you about this, then she doesnt have to. Let her come to you when she's ready."  
"And what if she's never ready?"  
"Then you wont ever talk about it. Like how you probably wont ever be ready to talk about the fire with her. Or your parents."  
Pony looked down, his shoes suddenly very interesting. He did have a point. Johnny was his best buddy, and it had taken him months to be able to talk to him about his parents. And even then, he wasnt comfortable with it. He still wasnt.

After a good fifteen minutes of comfortable silence passed, a van pulled up in the driveway. Dally's.

"Go" Johnny said, nudging him.

"I'm good" Ponyboy mumbled.

"You wont be able to see Zoe again if you dont."  
"Johnny, I really dont-"  
"Hey, Dally!" Johnny waved his hand in the air and signaled him over.

"What are you doing"Pony hissed.

"Getting you your girlfriend back" he replied, walking away. He motioned with his eyes for Dally to go talk to the fourteen your old before disappearing.

"Hey, Pony" he greeted, coldly.

"Hey, Dally" he said to the sky.

Dally crossed his arms. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"  
Ponyboy sighed and looked him dead in the eye, knowing that was the only way to get anything out of him. "Have you seen Zoe?"

"Yeah."

"...Can I talk to her?"

"Probably not."  
"Why not?"  
"She doesnt wanna talk to you."  
"Okay, so dont tell her I'm coming over then."  
Dally smirked in amusement. "You have seen her dagger, havent you?"  
Pony nodded and said "yes, I have. But I still need to talk to her."  
"Remember what happened last time you talked to her?"  
"That wasnt my fault. Dally, come on. I'll be quick."  
"Well, if you wanna talk to her, you'll have to find her first."  
He closed his eyes and tried not to snap at him. "Well, where do you think she went?"  
"What the hell makes you think I know? I only see her for like three minutes a day."

He ran a tired hand through his hair and started walking. "Thanks, Dally."  
. . .

**(I literally have no idea how to explain the story you are about to read. I was bored and needed something that would make for the perfect excuse for Zoe and Pony cuddling. BTW, this story, and the river, does not exist. Damn, my imagination is FIERCE!)**

Malcom's River was a river that could be seen from anywhere in Tulsa. It was named after a little boy from way back in the 1930's. Little Malcom had gone out to find his father's pocket watch, which had been lost the day before. The father had warned him not to go and stated that the watch could be replaced. But Malcom was persistent. The watch had been in the family for generations, and he desperately wanted to have the watch for himself. So, late at night with only a candle in hand, Malcom left home and paddled out into the middle of the river. After diving under the water for hours, he resurfaced and crawled back into the boat. Malcom started to paddle back to the shore when he suddenly saw something glistening in the moonlight. The watch! Smiling, he reached in the water. The next morning, Malcom's boat was found sitting in the middle of the lake by the townsfolk. When they swam up to it, Malcom was no where to be found. The entire boat, which was usually filled with clutter, was empty. All that remained was the candle, that had somehow washed onto shore. The same candle that still burns, to this day. There was a legend among the Tulsa residents that he had been snatched under the water by some dark creature with no face. Only a grim smile with sharp teeth. And people say, if you go out on the river, you can hear the sound of a pocketwatch clicking, as if Little Malcom is still searching for his family heirloom. Waiting for someone to retrieve it.

Ponyboy kept that story in mind as he walked along the banks of Malcom's River. Soda had told it to him when he was maybe five or six years old, flashlight in hand with a gloomy voice. Then, when he got to the part about Malcom being snatched, Darry, his mother, and his father had jumped from behind the couch and started screaming. They'd all thought it was pretty funny, but it had scared him something good. His dad had reassured him that it was all a bunch of baloney, but it had kept him from ever going to the River. It was painfully ironic that it happened to be the only place he could imagine Zoe hiding out at. While he was there, he tried to replay the advice his brothers had given him. "Never expect an apology", "if she does apologize, she's expecting you to apologize too", "if she starts yelling at you, just agree with everything she says", "in any scenario just stay quiet and say 'I'm sorry' until she quits whining."  
"Good to know I have a battle plan if I actually _do_ find her" Ponyboy muttered, walking along the riverbanks.

After searching for about two hours, he finally came upon a pile of clothes. Then he heard a splash. Fear racking his body, Pony leaned over the water and peered in.

And found a pair of green eyes staring back at him.

"Zoe! You nearly scared me to death!"  
Zoe slowly rose from the water, stopping at neck level, scowling. "What are you doing here?"  
"What are _you_ doing here? Do you know what this place is!"  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah" she said, rolling her eyes. "I heard the rumours. But I am not scared of some little boy looking for a tiny clock."  
"Well, you should be. And where have you been? No one's seen you in days!"

"Well, you avoided me" she reasoned. "I'm just returning the favor."  
He sighed and started walking in the water, then stopped, blushing slightly. "Wait, are you-"  
"Gosh, Ponyboy, you're such a prude. No, I am not naked." She rose her arms and revealed a silk covering. "I'm wearing a wetsuit."  
"Oh. But I thought you didnt have a swimsuit."  
"Who brings a wetsuit to a swimming pool?"

At that, he placed his bag of clothes on the ground beside hers and joined her in the river. They were quiet for a couple of minutes. And then she spoke.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you" she said, eyes staring at the sky.

"That's okay" Pony replied. Then he remebered the advice. "I'm sorry I was being nosey. It's okay if you dont wanna talk about it. We dont have to."  
Zoe focused her eyes on his. "I'm sick, Ponyboy" she said glumly.

He shrugged. "Everyone gets sick. I dont mind."  
"No, I'm, like, really sick."  
"Like 'spend all day hunched over the toilet sick'? 'Cause I can deal with that too."  
She sighed. "No, more like 'I need to be in a hospital' kind of sick."  
Ponyboy frowned, confused. "What, you need to get your appendix removed or something?" He understood perfectly what she was saying. He just didnt want it to be true.

"Ponyboy. I'm sick."

"...Yeah but...it's not...it's not bad, though...right?"  
"No...It's pretty bad." She closed her eyes and breathed softly. "I have this thing. I forget how they pronounce it, but it's some form of cancer."

Pony clenched his fists. "Yeah, but you're gonna be okay."  
She shook her head. "Probably not. I cant afford the treatment. Not yet, anyway."  
"And if you can-"  
"Ponyboy-"

"But if you _can_?" His eyes were pleading. _Not you. Not you too._

Zoe opened her mouth to respond when something splashed beside them. She pursed her lips and said "What was that?"  
"Malcom." He snatched her hand and started walking back to the shore, wondering why they had swum so far out. "Come on, lets get out of here."  
"Why? He's looking for his stuff, not bothering us."  
"Zoe, some pretty freaky stuff has happened over here to people who didnt think they were bothering anybody." He heard another splash and gulped. "Zoe, lets go."  
"You hear that?"  
"No, I dont hear anything. Lets _go_."

"No, seriously, listen."  
Ponyboy didnt stop sloshing through the water but was still aware of a vague ticking sound. Inhaling sharply, he quickened his footsteps, cursing himself for going out in the water in the first place.

"Tick, tick, ticking" Zoe muttered, absentmindedly.

"Ignore that" he snapped before feeling her hand slip from his. He turned and looked around him wildly. "Zoe? Zoe!"  
Pony dove into the water and tried to get past the muggy fog. Then he felt someone bump into him. He turned around and found Zoe smiling at him. He gave her a scowl in return, snatched her hand, and brought them both back above the water. When he felt the oxygen easily going into his lungs again, he asked "what...in the hell...were you thinking!?"  
She just smiled wider and brushed her hair out of her face. "I was thinking that I'm as lucky as a leprechuan! Lookit what I found!" She opened her hand and revealed a golden pocket watch.

Pony just stared at it. "Is that-"  
"Think so. Wow, just look at it." Zoe leaned her head back and yelled at the sky "hey, Malcom, can I have this!"

A gust of wind blew past them. Along the shore, the candle caught fire, blowing in the breeze.

"Well, if that's not an answer I dont know what is." She peered down at it and ran a hand over it. "I can see why he wanted it."  
"Think it's worth something?"  
"Probably. But I'd rather not sell something a ghost has been searching for for nearly thirty years. And besides, what would the cops think if they saw me with this? Probably think I robbed a jewelry store or something. And the last thing I need is-"  
Ponyboy cut her off by bringing her into a bear crushing hug. After a couple seconds passed, Zoe returned the hug.

"Dont scare me like that" he whispered.

"Dont be a scaredy cat."  
He tipped her chin up and placed a kiss on her lips, smiling when they passed their usual three seconds. "Dont do that again" he repeated. "Okay?"  
"Okay."  
"Promise?"  
Zoe smiled and laid her head against his chest. "I promise."

**Yeah, I'm a sucker for happy endings. **


	9. My Name's Kalvin( With A K)

Zoe was a working gal. She had been for some time now. Because, seriously, cancer treatment didnt come cheap. You would think it would, given that it could mean, I dunno, saving someone's life! But, no, that doesnt really matter. So it's either "open your wallet or get the hell out of my office". Before she moved to Tulsa, she had worked at every establishment in her old town. She had been diagnosed when she was eleven and had spent the next two to three years making easy cash. Odd jobs, if she had to. Her resume would have been unbelievably long if she had bothered to get one. Anyway, she'd made some good money, so much money that she had enough to pay for half the costs of treatment. Then, for reasons that shall not be mentioned, she packed her bags and hopped on the first train to Tulsa.

And, believe it or not, finding a job in the large city was not as easy as you think it would be. But after job hunting for the first three days, Zoe finally struck gold. A diner was hiring waitresses and cooks. And because she was so good at cooking, she ended up getting both roles. She got paid pretty good money, plus tips because she was so good with people. It also could have had something to do with the fact that she made some pretty badass flapjacks. But Zoe always liked to have more than one source of the green paper. So she kept looking through the papers.

One week later, she was just strolling through Main Street and found a barbershop looking for someone to keep the place nice and tidy. Zoe thought it was a pretty good gig because she all she had to do was sweep up disgusting clumps of hair for a couple hours, all the while catching up on all things Tulsa. That had been during her second week in the city, and she just wasnt comfortable with not knowing everyone in her area. The diner and the shop took care of that problem. Anyway, the pay wasnt too bad, but she still kept her eye out for other jobs.

And then she discovered a scruffy looking man named Lucas was looking for someone to help with roofting houses. Apparently, someone had gotten hurt on the job, so Lucas was short one man. Zoe answered his plea and showed up the next morning five minutes early. But, well, she wasnt Zoe, per se. She had had experience with these type of jobs before and knew that they werent too big on hiring girls. So she showed up with her hair in a bun under a baseball cap and Dally's clothes. Lucas eyed her strangely when he first saw her but didnt say anything aside from "your shift ends at six. Get to work."  
It had been a very hot day. The sun was shining overhead with this big stupid smile on it's face, making Zoe suddenly regret wearing a black shirt. But she didnt dwandle on that. _What's done is done_, she decided. It was slow work, but it kept her distracted. She needed a lot of that these days.

After working for a solid hour, somebody else showed up. He was incredibly tall and buff. She'd heard a few girls saying he was gorgeous once before, but she thought he was adorable. Like a kitten. A grumpy kitten. He had this look on his face that said something along the words of _My life is hell._ And he was rude. He didnt even say anything to her. He did give her a look, though. She couldnt decide if it was an amusingly disturbed look or an unnervingly suspicious one. But she didnt bug him about it. As much as she wanted to, she decided to let him come to her. Her own silentness would make her seem even more mysterious and make him more curious, and then she'd scared the shit out of him by saying something totally random and odd. Zoe smiled at the thought, and noticed him look at her out of the corner of her eye. He looked like he wanted to say something, but shook his head and went back down the ladder to get another buddle of roofting.

Anyway, Darry and Zoe continued to work for about three hours. Every once in a while, Zoe would smile and giggle(no chuckel, dudes dont giggle) at some random thought. And every once in a while, Darry would throw her a confused look. Then shake it off. But, just as his shift was about to end, he sighed and decided to make conversation.

"I'm Darry" he muttered, placing down some roofting.

Zoe smiled wide. "Hi, I-". She cleared her throat then started again. "Hey, Darry."  
He looked up from the roofting and stared at her, expectingly.

"What?"  
"What's your name?"  
"Oh." Name, name, name. Hmmmmm... "My name... is... Kal...vin. With a k."  
Darry stared at her, with a look that could be definently described as seriously disturbed. "Okay...Kalvin. With a k."

They worked quietly for a while, Darry still giving her looks, before speaking again. "So, how come I've never seen you before?"  
Zoe just smirked and said "you have."  
He frowned. "I think I would remember that."  
"Huh?"

"Nothing. But, seriously, I have never seen you before."  
"Of course you have" she replied. "You just dont recognize me."  
"I dont know any Kalvins. With a k."  
She rolled her eyes and crawled up the ladder. "I know."

Darry rose an eyebrow. "Unless you're not Kalvin. With a k."  
"I didnt say that."  
"Well, are you?"  
"Are you?"  
"Am I- What? No! I'm Darry!"  
Zoe frowned. "Well, duh, you already said that."  
He clenched his fists around the bundle. "You...Are you or are you not Kalvin...with a k?"  
"I may or may not be, but who I am is also who I am not-"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"- because a name does not define who I am. Like you could be Darry, or you could Reginold. But Reginold is just a name, so I can not use that to describe you as a person. Because that is not you."  
"...My name is not Reginold. It's Darry."  
Zoe frowned. "Are you sure?"  
"Yes! Wait. Well, actually, it's Darrell."  
She tilted her head to the side, as if to said _See? I told you so. _Then she reached for another bundle and fell silent again.

When Darry's shift ended, he turned over to Zoe and blinked. No one ever worked longer than he did. Plus "Kalvin" (with a k) looked kind of young. It shouldnt have even been legal for him to get the job anyway. "How old are you" he asked, climbing down the ladder for the last time that day.

"Thirteen" came her reply.

"...Okay... Well, I'll see you later, Kalvin."  
"With a k!" she called out from the rooft.  
He shook his head and, chuckling (because dudes dont giggle), walked away from the house. "With a k" he answered.

Darry hadnt expected to "see her later" partially because he thought her had imagined him from heat exhaustion. But there she was, the next day, smiling like a fricking Cheshire Cat or something. Now he could go ahead and say that the next day was easier and Zoe didnt irritate the crap out of him.

But then he'd be lying. He eventually settled on basically ignoring her and only saying "uh huh" and "mm hm" and "really" and "no!" when she expected him to say something. She sure did talk a lot. She sometimes asked him stuff, but got the hint that he didnt want to talk. Or probably couldnt. Darry couldnt understand how she had enough oxygen in her lungs to do all that talking while working. But it wasnt all so bad. He usually got someone that pretended he didnt exist or did such a bad job at the roofting that he had to go over their work and fix it. It was nice having someone to talk to.

And then, after showing up to work on time for the past two months, which even Darry couldnt always do, Zoe wasnt there. He waited for her at the gate for a few minutes. It had become a routine of theirs that Zoe would bring in some breakfast bars for them to eat while Lucas compromised (weasled) a deal out of the owners. Darry usually ate three blueberry bars, while Zoe had one apple bar. After waiting for fifteen minutes, he frowned and started the day without her. Multiple times, he turned to the gate and expected her to come bouncing thorugh it. But she never did.

"Curtis!"

"Yeah." He paused and turned to Lucas.

"Where's Squirt at?"  
"I dunno. Probably forgot we were working today" Darry replied, though even as the words slipped off his tongue, he knew they werent true. Zoe took her job seriously, even more than he did. He'd seen the little calendar she kept in her satchel, marked up with so designs it gave him a headache. There was no way she could have forgotten. And maybe it was a little odd for him to be so concerned for her, but the kid had grown on him. He thought of her as his own kid brother..

Zoe came into work the next day, half an hour late. Lucas yelled at her for a bit before letting her join Darry on the rooft.

"I forgot the breakfast bars" she muttered, hammering some roofting into place.

"That's okay" he said, watching the way her hands were twitching. "I had a big breakfast."  
She nodded then fell into silence. But there was no grin on her face to be seen.

"Where were you yesterday?"  
"I, um... had a sick day."  
Darry eyed her up her down. Her eyes were unfocused. "_Had_? Looks like you're still having one."  
"Yeah..." Zoe swayed on her feet before massaging her temples.

"Kalvin?"

She smiled slightly. "With a k" she murmured before falling backwards and off the roof.

Darry dropped his bundle. "Kalvin!" He stood up and slid down the ladder, landing beside her. "Kalvin!" He shook her shoulder then paused. Her baseball cap had fallen off, exposing her long ponytail. "Zoe?"  
"Curtis! What's going on out there!"

He stared at her for a bit then yelld back "Z..._Kalvin_ slipped! I'm gonna get her-him! Get him some ice from the truck! Alright?"

He heard a sigh followed by "tell him it's coming out of his pay."

Darry reached down and slowly lifted Zoe off the ground and lead her to the truck. He wasnt sure how he felt about the whole situation, but he knew one thing for certain. If Kalvin... Zoe... had lied about being a dude, it must have been for a good reason. Because even though roofting paid good money, it wasnt an easy job. No one would take it unless they were truly desperate. Like he was.

After lying her down on the cot and dragging some ice wrapped in a dry cloth over her head for a while, Darry looked down and found Zoe's eyes flickering open. She groaned and brought a hand up to her head.

"Zoe?" Golly, it felt so weird calling her that  
She ignored him and looked around her. "Why am I in the truck? And why'd you call me-" Then she saw her cap in his hands and her eyes widened.

"Yeah" Darry sighed, waving the cap. "We gotta talk."  
Zoe sat up straighter and ran a tired hand over her face. "Darrel, look, I know how this must look-"  
"I dont think you do. My kid brother's girlfriend pretending to be a guy to work at my job? That's kind of weird."  
"I need the money" she said, quietly. "Two jobs alone is not going to get me the money and-"  
"You're working three jobs" he asked, his face skeptical.

"Yeah. Here, the barbershop on Oaks Street, and the diner."  
"...What's so important that you need three jobs to pay it off?"  
Zoe looked up at him. "I'm more than just a little sick."

After half an hour of explaining, Darry sat back and exhaled deeply. Cancer. Wow. That was a lot to place on someone's shoulders. Especially someone so young.

"Does Pony know" he asked.

"No" she rolled her eyes. "In case you havent noticed, we're not exactly talking."  
"Well, he's been looking for you all day."  
Zoe gave him a look. "Really?"  
"Yeah. He's really worried about you."  
She sat back against the wall of the truck. Then stood up. "Do me a favor, okay?"  
He nodded.

"Tell Lucas I'm taking the day off. I need to clear my head."  
"And talk to Pony?"  
"...Maybe."  
She opened the doors to the truck and took in a deep breath. Then started walking.

"Where ya headed" Darry asked.

Zoe just kept walking and said "swimming."

**Yeah, I love Darry and I just HAD to throw something in with him. I might do the next one with Soda...**


	10. The Talk

**He he, may contain conversations not appropriate for those under the age of thirteen. Or those who dont have any access to TV, the internet or any inappropriate siblings/friends. He he.**

"Peanut?"  
Zoe continued to stare at the ceiling. "Yeah?"  
Ponyboy dropped his hand over hers as they laid across his bed. "You okay?"  
A minute or two passed before she answered. "I'm fine."  
"You've been kind of quiet lately."  
"I know."  
"...Is it the, um... you know... Thing?"

"Yeah." She sighed, probably knowing he wasnt going to let it drop. "I did some... numbering. And I should be able to start treatment in about two weeks."  
He smiled sadly. "That's great, right?"  
"Well, I guess any treatment it great, but I've had It for a while now. And, you know, it's better to start from the moment it starts."

Pony bit his lip and squeezed her hand tighter. "Zoe... I know this isnt going as great as you want it to but I need you to promise me something. Okay?"  
She nodded glumly. "Yeah. What is it?"

He took a deep breath. "I need you to promise me that you wont give up" he said, eyes intense. "It may not be the best treatment, but I need you to do that. Cause that's all I can offer."  
For the first time in the past three hours, Zoe removed her fixated eyes from the ceiling and focused them on him. "Wow, Ponyboy. That was really deep."  
He blushed slightly.

All seriousness left her face as she smiled her insane smile, giggling. "I feel like I'm in a soap opera."  
Pony rolled his eyes, relieved that she was back. Since she revealed the Thing, she hadnt been herself. Not exactly sulky, but more anti-social. Like himself. For the first couple days, she rarely said anything. She still wasnt saying much, but he was getting more out of her now. Funny, how quickly their roles had switched.

And it had to be that moment that Soda walked in. He eyed the two, on the bed, their hands, clinging to each other as if their very lives depended on it, and the look in their eyes, excited, and smiled something close to Zoe's animalistic grin. Then, chuckling diabolically, exited the room, an awkwardness now plaguing the atmosphere.

The two preteens remained silent, the mood having been effectively ruined, manhandled, murded, destroyed, slaughtered, before Zoe said "That's gonna come back to bite us in the butt later, right?"  
Pony just sighed in irratattion and said "Oh, yeah."

. . .

This theory was later proven to be correct when he came home later that day and found Soda and Darry in his room.

"Hey, Pony" Darry said, in a voice that was probably meant to be casual, but in reality still sounded pretty suspicious.

"Hey, Darry" Pony muttered, lying down on his bed. "Hey, Soda."  
The two eldest brothers exchanged a look before joining him. "So...You and Zoe are, um, getting pretty close...right?"

He flicked some lint off of the bed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Like..._really_ close?"

He rose an eyebrow at that. "O...kaaaaaayyyyyy."

Darry ran an exhausted hand over his flustered face. "Pony, you know you're at that age when-"  
"What are guys talking about" Ponyboy asked, eyes wide with horror.

"You know" Soda finished. "When you start noticing girls and stuff."  
"Soda-"  
"And that's perfectly natural" Darry continued. "It happens to everyone, it's a part of life."  
"You're not actually-"  
"We just want you to be careful."  
"Yeah, one wrong step, and you'll find yourself changing diapers at fifteen."  
"WHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT?"

Soda wrappped an arm around Ponyboy's shoulders. "And we just want you to know that if you start feeling any sudden _strong, powerful, uncontrollable _urges, you can come and talk to us about it."  
"We're here for you, Ponyboy. We all are. The whole gang has even said they'd always keep their ears and eyes open for you."  
"You did what? Why would you-"  
"You're becoming a young man" Darry said dramatically, hand resting over his heart. "It's just time that you accept it."  
Soda nodded seriously and said "Yeah, just remeber to keep your damn pants on."  
"And if you cant do that, wear a condom."  
"Right, but the good kind. Not the ones Two-Bits sells. Those things breaks easily. Had to learn that the hard way."  
"And make sure she's on birth control. You never know what might happen-"  
"WE ARE NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION" Pony shrieked, his face the color of a ripe cherry.

Darry and Soda frowned in confusion, not understanding what the big fuss was about. "Ponyboy" Darry began. "You have to take precautions. I know this is embarrassing-"  
"No, I really dont think you do" he argued.

"Yes, we do. We've all gone through this before. And let me tell you." Soda placed his hands on his shoulders. "It gets better."  
Ponyboy just held his head in his hands. "Oh my God."  
"It's called Puberty. It's a son of a bitch, but it exists for a reason."  
"_Oh my God_."

"And that reason is to prevent you from doing dumbass shit when you're older."  
"Oh. My. God."  
"Soda. That is not what it's for."

"OH MY GOD."  
"Then what the hell is it for? That's what Dad told me."

"Well, Mom told me it's like a roadmap, a _very detailed _roadmap, that tells you how to get to your destination and what to do when you get there, and how to do it right." He smirked. "I'm guessing you lost your roadmap."  
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."

Soda gave Darry a look before turning to his younger brother. "Pony? Is something wrong?"

"YES! This!" He motioned at the two of them. "You two are just standing there and-"  
"We just wanna make sure you know what you're doing" Soda pouted, crossing his arms. "I saw the two of you earlier. There was nothing innocent about that."  
"Oh, for crying out loud, we are NOT having sex!"  
They both fell into silence then said "What?"  
He scoffed. "She's not even like that. She doesnt... She's asexual, or whatever, you call it."  
"She's what?"  
"She isnt interested in sex. We had a talk about it and everything a little while back."  
The silence returned. Then broke as Soda scowled and walked out the room, muttering "Well, this was a waste of my time."  
Darry just shook his head and slapped him across the back, following Soda. "She is just full of all kinds of surprises."

Pony just stared at him, confusedly. "Wait, what does that mean? Darry? Darry, come on! Why are you laughing?"

. . .

Yeah, Dally tried to pull the same thing on Zoe, but didnt get very far. Apparently, she wasnt very interested in what he had to say because shortly after he finished saying "Puberty is a time when you get really horny and wanna take your clothes off", she got up, slapped him across the face, and went out to get a veggie corn dog.

Because not all families are as close and willing to talk about that kind stuff as the Curtises.

**He he, yeah I enjoyed writing that one. **


	11. Zoe's Past Life

**Yeah, this is an unnesscarily dramatic chapter.**

"Tell me."

Zoe turned her attention from the clouds. "Hm?"

Ponyboy sighed and took a minute to gather his thoughts, to solve the mystery that had been bothering him for almost three months. "Tell me everything."

Zoe smiled softly and gently laid her hand over his. "Ponyboy-"  
"You start treatment tomorrow" he said stubbornly. "I wanna know everything about you before they start shooting you up with drugs and stuff."

Her hand quickly left his and curled tightly around the grass. A thick silence settled over the two for about fifteen minutes. Pony wanted to speak up and say something, afraid of losing her before he had to, but decided against it. There would be no budging with her. She'd talk when she was ready. And for a while, he thought she would never be ready.

And then she said "What do you wanna know?"  
He sighed in relief. "Everything."  
Zoe closed her eyes. "You might not like what you hear."  
"I dont care."

"Start at the beginning."  
"The very beginning?"  
"The very beginning."

Another ten minutes passed before she spoke again. "I was born July 18, 1952, in Las Vegas."  
Pony listened intently and closed his eyes, trying to capture her memories behind his eyelids.

. . .

Zoetta Rynae Parks was the first girl and eleventh child of Lori Smith and Ronald Parks. When it was her turn to enter the world, the two had lost interest in raising kids. Lori spent her time with her sisters at the local Beauty Salon, listening to gossip. Ron spent his days recovering from a hangover, his nights betting and gambling and getting drunk. A good thirty precent of his "profits" went to his family.

So you could say they were on their own.

With the departure of their parents and the arrival of a new young'un, a new set of rules was adopted. Their oldest son was ninteen years old and was consequently their "Alpha". Every week, another brother was forced to look after Little Zoe. Whether that meant keeping the little girl locked in the house all day, or taking her along to watch a drug deal, "Alpha" didnt care. This went on for about a week or two before everyone lost track and pinned her on sixteen year old Kalvin (with a k).

Zoe's childhood was a maze of shawdowy figures, loud music, and whores wandering in her house at random hours of the day. But Kalvin was the only one she had a connection with. She didnt even know her other brothers' names. She simply associated them with nicknames: Alpha, Smokes, Vodka, Bruise, Money Money, Knuckles, Chevy, Perv, Smart Ass, and Cards. And after hearing Zoe refer to her brothers as The Dogs, at the age of five, Kalvin moved them out of their house to live with his girlfriend Cheyenne.

She didnt see a lot of Kalvin after that. Apparently, it took a lot to raise your kid sister, take care of yourself, your girlfriend, and to prepare for your own kid on the way. He usually jumped from job-to-job, depending on the season. The only time Zoe really saw him was before she went to sleep. He'd come in from a long day at work, crash beside her in bed, and tell her how his "Spy Missions" went. She believed every word he said until she turned six and saw him in the cleaning the windows of a mini-van one day. After that, Zoe demanded he tell her what he really did every day. It didnt sound like much fun, but she preferred it to him lying to her.

After Kalvin figured out she had faked her pregnancy, Cheyenne packed her bags late at night, took all the money, and left Kalvin and Zoe.

Shortly afterwards, Kalvin and Zoe hit rock bottom. They hid out in an old abandoned building for a couple weeks. But then a couple weeks turned into a couple months. And then a couple years.

. . .

Zoe looked up to Kalvin.

"We're in trouble, arent we" she asked.

Kalvin just kept his head in his hands and said, very quietly, "Yeah. Yeah, Little Bit, we are."

She stared at him and watched a single tear fall from his eyes. "I cant keep doing this" he muttered to himself, being sitting up. "Zoe...You know...We've been through a lot, right?"

She nodded.

"And...We've had it rough, lately."  
"It's not so bad." Zoe swiped up a rock and chucked it at the wall.

"I'm not...I cant take care of you."

"You know that, right?"  
"No. You've always taken care of me."  
He snorted and gestured to their current living conditons. "This is not taking care of you."  
"It's more than Alpha and them did."  
"At least you had a bed."

"There was usually some people doing some stuff in it."  
"And some food."  
"Usually spoiled."  
"And you didnt have to hide out like this."  
Zoe glared at him. "So" she spat. "So what? Yeah, things suck right now. I'm cold, I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I want a shower. But we cant give up. We never have. Not even when Cheyenne kicked us to the curb, and she's the reason we're in this mess."

She punched his arm and said "We cant give up. _You_ told me that._ You _told me even when life is kicking my ass, I have to get right back up. Even when I wanna just lie down, I have to get back up. Because the moment you stop caring, I'll stop caring. And you're not gonna like what's gonna happen then."

Kalvin smiled. "Lot of mouth for an eight year old."

She returned the smile and threw her pillow at him. "Go to sleep, dummy."  
He threw it back and laid against the mattress.

"I promise."  
"Promise what?"  
"That I'm not going anywhere" Zoe whispered to the crumbling ceiling.

"Neither am I" Kalvin replied.

"Promise?"

She went to sleep without an answer.  
The next day, Child Services took Zoe into their custody. She kicked and screamed at them as she watched Kalvin be arrested for Child Neglectment and/or Endangerment. It took a while for them to realize she wasnt going without a fight. Five minutes later, eight-year-old Zoe found herself with hadcuffs around her wrists.

"Dont let them take me away" she cried to Kalvin as they threw her into the car. The entire car ride to the police station, she screamed and threatened the men up front. She only stopped when one of them slammed their club against the screen and said "didnt your parents tell you to shut up?" She slumped down against the seats, pounded against the leather, and screamed, louder than before, "I dont have any parents , asshole!"

As the men led her into the station, Zoe looked around frantically for her older brother. She started screaming again when she didnt see him. When they couldnt get her to quiet down, one of the men placed their hand over her mouth. They didnt seem to appreciate it much when she bit down on it.

"Where is Kalvin" she screeched, the faintest trace of blood on her tongue.

"Someone put this girl down or something" the man yelled, holding his hand close to him.

Zoe didnt hear him, though. She peered around him and saw Kalvin. She rushed dashed away from the man and dove into his arms.

"Calm down" he hissed. "You're going to get yourself in trouble."  
"They're taking me away" she sobbed, tears streaming down her face, as she felt arms dragging her away. "Kalvin!"  
Kalvin stared at her as the men dragged him away. He was being lead into another room when he suddenly yelled "Zoe!"  
Zoe, who had crumpled to the ground in all the madness, lifted her head up. "Kalvin?" She looked around the men around her and saw his terrified eyes just as the doors were closing. "I promise! I promise-"

. . .

"Sweetie, I need you to look at me."  
Zoe continued to stare at the wall.

The orphange lady sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened to your brother. No one wants to be here."

"You keep that up and you wont be here for much longer."  
Her eyes widened for a second. Then darkened as she finshed.

"They'll ship your ass off to an insane asylum." She reached behind her and revealed Zoe's lunch, muttering "Dont see why they havent already, though."  
Zoe sighed and stared at the mush, Kalvin's words still on her mind. Promise. Promise what? Those words had been on her mind for three years, and she still hadnt figured it out.

"Your brother" the lady sighed, as if reading her mind. "I've talked to him."  
She kept her eyes on her plate, but her ears were wide awake.

"Your brother" she repeated. "Claud?"  
Zoe clenched her fork in her hand. "Kalvin."  
She shook her head, smiling deviously. "So you _do_ talk. Huh. Who would have thunk? Anyway, Calvin-"  
"Kalvin."  
"That's what I said."  
"No, you said Calvin. His name his Kalvin. With a k."  
"And you can tell that from just hearing me?"  
"Yes."

The orphanage lady rolled her eyes. "_Calvin_ has worked out something with your brothers-"  
"They're not my brothers."  
"And they said they'll take care of you. And he said something about a...Sharon?"  
"Cheyenne. Cheyenne Williams" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, her. Said keep an eye out for her cause she has something for you... You know a Cheyenne?"

Zoe nodded, though deeply confused. Cheyenne was gone, and she was never coming back. And Kalvin knew that. Which meant that this was a message. Probably the last part of his previous message.

_"I promise! I promise-"_

Zoe tuned out the lady as the pieces fit together. Cheyenne was the reason they were seperated. She was the reason they had been living in that abandoned apartment. _"She's the reason we're in this mess." _She had said that the night before they took her away. And after she said that, she promised she wasnt going anywhere. Kalvin never promised.

But he did.

Zoe cut the woman off by suddenly wrapping her arms around her neck. She must have thought she was attacking her, because it wasnt like she hadnt done it before, 'cause she rose her hands to protect her face. Then she realized it was a hug. She didnt return the hug, but she did pat her back awkwardly.

"Yeah, yeah."  
"Thank you." Zoe hopped up then and rushed to her room. _Look out for Cheyenne_. She could have been wrong. She could have been very, _very _wrong. But she was going to take that chance. Even if it meant "living" with The Dogs again.

. . .

"Well, well, well, lookit here!"  
Zoe crossed her arms and blew her hair out of her face as Knuckles lead her to her new bedroom. "Hey."

"I dont know what that moron was thinking" he rambled. "Did he actually think he was going to get somewhere. You should have seen the old man when he heard what happened, man, it was something. Thought he was going to-"  
"Archie, where'd you put the damn cooler?"

A boy about twelve years old entered the room. He had blonde hair and icy blue eyes that danced dangerously around the room. When his eyes settled on Zoe, they froze. Then sparkled in amusement. "You're the kid that thought she could eat that cop's hand, huh?"  
She scowled and crossed her arms. "Who the hell is this?" Even in the years she was gone, she still knew how things went. You had to threaten people to get answers.

"This is your cousin, punk-ass" Knuckles answered. "Dallas Winston."

He rolled his eyes. "Dally. You?"  
She ignored him and left to find her room. When she entered, she found Perv and some girl making out on her bed. "Get out" she said.

"Hey, baby sis" Perv said, smiling wide. "Lookit you, all grown up."  
"Get out!"  
He held his hands up in mock defense before leading the girl out. A couple minutes later, the door opened again. Annoyed, she turned around. "I said get out..." She trailed off when she saw Dally standing in the doorway.

"I said what's your name" he greeted.

"Get out."  
"Yeah, I dont think so." Dally lifted up his shirt and revealed a gun in his pocket.

"Yeah, get out" Zoe repeated. She'd been threatened plently of times before. Kalvin had thought her how to deal with people like this. She stepped forward, seeming to intimidate him when he stumbled backwards.

"Who do you think you are" he spat, regaining his scary demeanor. He was a foot taller than her and had a good build, for a twelve year old. He pushed her to the ground and smiled.

Zoe squeaked and looked up at him.

"What is your name?"  
She crawled to her feet, her own eyes on fire, and calmly said "Get out."  
"Why?"  
She sighed in irratation. And then kicked him in his crotch.

Dally fell to the ground in absolute agony, screaming his head off. She simply shrugged and said "Stay in here, I'm not sticking around anyway." She reached under her bed for a black bookbag before crawling out the window. Before she jumped, though, she looked back in the window and smirked. "And Dallas? My name is Zoe."

. . .

Cheyenne's house had burned down in a fire. Zoe was a little worried about being out in the open at first, but she forgot all about that when she saw a familair figure. Heart in her ears, she rushed across the burnt rubble and soon found herself in a bear-crushing hug.

"Hey, Little Bit" Kalvin quipped, spinning her.

"Kalvin. How... How are you here" she choked, wiping her eyes.

"Mmmmm, lets just say I got a damn good lawyer."  
Zoe laughed and hugged him closer.

"Look, Zoe, I'm gonna be straight with you. I cant stay."

Her heart sank.

"There's some guys after me. And they're...they're pretty bad. I've gotta skip town, wait 'til things quiet down."

"Hey. Look at me." Kalvin looked her in the eye. "It's gonna be okay."  
"No, it's not, Kalvin." She stared at the ground. "They told you I'm sick, didnt they?"  
"...Yeah. Yes, they did."

"Okay, what makes you think I'll be around-"  
"Dont talk like that. Remember what you told me? We dont ever give up. Do we? Do we?"  
She shook her head.

"Alright, then. You just keep you head up, okay?"  
"Okay?"  
"Good." Kalvin looked around him. Then he reached in his pocket and revealed a dagger. Zoe reconized it as the one he'd won in his first poker game with The Dogs. His most prixed possession. "I want you to have this. Now I dont want you to go around hurting anyone with this, but dont be afraid to whip it out if anybody comes at you. You got it?"  
Zoe nodded as she slipped it into her boot. "Got it."  
"Alright, come here." He wrapped his arms around her. "Stay out of trouble, okay?"  
"Only if you do."  
"Zoe."  
She sighed and stepped back. "I promise."  
He smiled. "Promise what?"  
"...That we'll meet up again one day."  
"So do I."  
She looked up at him, eyes sparkling with tears. "Promise?"  
"...I promise."

. . .

Two years later, Zoetta Ryane Parks hopped on the first train to Tulsa, Oklahomah. She walked the rest of the mile to Dallas Winston's house and knocked on his door. He opened it and looked at who was there.

"Zoe."  
"Dallas."

"..."  
"I'm sorry I kicked you in your crotch."  
He scowled and said "I got your letter."  
Zoe looked up at him with a deranged smile.

Dally gave her a smile smiliar to hers before leading her to her room.

**I dont know. I didnt know what to write and that happened.**


	12. Zoe's Past Life Part II

**Yeah, this one's not that good. Kind of rushed. See You Again should be winding down in the next month or so :3**

"You're different now."  
Zoe smiled, lying against the branch of a tree. "Yeah. I am."  
Ponyboy continued to stare at the setting sun. "What happened?"  
She shrugged. "Life."  
"Seriously?"  
"It's the universal answer to every question. If there's another, I sure havent found one yet."  
He smirked and offered "Global warming?"

She rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder.

"But, really. What happened? You seem so different from when you talk about yourself back then."  
Zoe sat up and thought for a minute. "My brothers, I guess. Now that I really think about it, they were really messed up. They let me do whatever the hell I wanted. And when they actually took the time to look after me, they told me not to let people walk over me and to teach them a lesson if they ever did. When Kalvin took me away from them, I guess my outlook changed. He told me that, yes, I shouldnt let people treat me like a doormat, but I shouldnt go around threatening to kill everybody. Then They put me in That Place and I kind of relasped... I think that was when I hit rock bottom. I didnt know if I wanted to 'kill everybody' or just act like it. I kind of lost myself."  
She fell silent and brought her knees closer to her.

Pony turned to look at her and wrap an arm around her. "It's okay. Everybody hits rock bottom eventually... Some just a little sooner than others." He took a deep breath and said "A couple months ago...there was a fire. Dally and Johnny got hurt really bad. Johnny was in a coma for a few weeks cause some peice of the building hit him in the head. After a rumble, me and Dally went to see him and he kind of lost it. He robbed a gas station and the cops showed up and shot him... We thought he was dead, but he was okay." He smiled through watery eyes. "He's Dally, you know. But it messed me up something awful. And it took a while, but I found myself. Just like you did."

She shook her head, her brown hair shaking like leaves in the fall. "I'm still kind of lost."

"Well, it doesnt show."  
Zoe stared at her shoeless feet. "You have people, gang, family, to pick you up if you get lost. Like you said, it'll take some time, but they'll help you. I dont have that. Yeah, I've got Dally, but I might as well try talking to a brick wall."  
Pony picked at a piece of bark, letting her words settle. "I think he'd be there for you if you ever need him. He may not feel like family, but he's gang. And that's close enough."  
She sighed and relaxed into his arms. Some minutes passed before she spoke again. "I miss them sometimes" she said remorsefully. "All of them. The Dogs were pretty awful, but they're family. My family. I know you guys are here for me, but-"  
"It's not the same as your _real _family" he finished.  
"I just wanna see them again." She sniffled and, with terror, Pony realized she was crying. "I left them without saying goodbye. And they probably dont even care, or havent noticed yet, but I do miss them."  
"I'm sure they've noticed. Cause, lets be honest." He brushed away some tears. "You're kind of hard not to notice."

Zoe looked up at him. "You start school tomorrow."  
Ponyboy closed his eyes. "I can skip. It's just the first day, I wont miss anything."  
"You can always miss something."  
"You start treatment tomorrow. What, am I not supposed to be there?"  
"It's not your responsibility. I'm just saying, I'll still be there when you get out of school. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

He shook his head. "Okay. So I'll see you then."  
"You'll be there?"  
"I'll be there."  
"Promise?"  
"I promise."

. . .

He went home that night and found his brothers in his room, sitting on his bed. Recalling what happened the last time he was in this situation, he turned around and headed towards the kitchen.

One second later, Ponyboy was lifted off the ground and thrown on the couch. And then someone was sitting on him.

"Soda!"  
Soda just chuckled and ruffled up his hair.

"Aw, jeez."  
Darry entered then and sighed. "Soda, get off of him."

Soda rolled his eyes, but eventually hopped off of him and relaxed onto the couch. And then his face turned serious.

"Guys, if this is about that puberty thing-"  
"No, this isnt about that." Darry sat down beside him and clapped his hands together. "It's about Zoe."

Ponyboy tensed and looked at a stain on the carpet.

"She's going in tomorrow" Soda continued. "And... well, you remember Aunt Clarisse, dont you?"  
He frowned and struggled to remember. He could vaguely remember a nice lady that was always smelled like strawberries. "Sort of."  
"Well, she came down with some kind of cancer when we were little. And after she went in... well, she wasnt the same."  
He rose an eyebrow. "So?"  
"We want you to be prepared" Soda sighed. "Whatever chemicals they use to fight the cancer does something to them."  
"And it gets worse when they lock them in a building for a month" Darry explained.

"Well, that really sound terrible, but you dont think that's gonna happen to Zoe. Do you?"  
"Pony, she already changing. And she hasnt even gone in yet."

"Yeah, but she's different."  
"We know. But you just need to know that. She might be depressed sometimes or just angry to the point where she doesnt even wanna see you anymore."  
"I highly doubt that. She even said she wants me to come and see her after school tomorrow."  
The two sighed.

"Just keep an eye open. If anything happens, just try not to take it personally. She's going through a lot right now."  
Ponyboy nodded, knowing it was best to agree with them. If he didnt, they'd be there for a long time.

. . .

School didnt end soon enough. He went throughout the day walking past blurry faces mumurming "blah, blah, blah, how was your summer, blah, blah blah, dont you just hate school, blah, blah, blah, isnt that the kid with the sick girl, blah, blah, blah". He honestly didnt know what to expect when he went back to school, but being bombarded with a bunch of dumbass, insensitive questions like "So is she gonna die or what" was far from what he pictured. Ponyboy wasnt even sure how they knew Zoe was sick, but he assumed it had something to do with Steve or Two-Bit. As tough and mean-looking as they were, those two could beat two cheerleaders at gossiping.

He figured class would take his mind of Zoe, but it was hard not to think about her when the whole class was always staring at him. And throwing notes at him with things like _What kind of cancer?. _And whispering "You dont have to have to pay her hospital bill, do you?" And if the kids werent bad enough, he had the teachers to worry about as well. One of them actually had the nerve to pull him aside and say "I hope this girl's condition wont have any affect on your schoolwork. If she dies, I expect you to be here eighty-nine percent of the time. You understand me?" He didnt even wait to hear the end of that rant, just walked right out of class. Most of them, though, just gave him hugs and reassuring pats on the backs and said things like "I hope you and your lady are doing well" or "you'll overcome this". There were only two people in his whole school that didnt lose their minds: Cherry Valance and Mr. Syme. He had been keeping Cherry posted long before school started so there was nothing to worry about there. But Mr. Syme was surprisingly keeping his head about all of it, even though he was always pushing him about his work. He didnt say anything about it, but gave him supportive smiles to let him know he was there if he ever wanted to talk. Which came in handy when the day ended and Pony remained seated in his class.

Mr. Syme looked up from his desk and rose an eyebrow. "Um, Ponyboy?"  
"Yeah?"  
"School's over."  
"Right." Slowly, he stood up and looked out the window. Behind the building in front of him was the hospital Zoe was staying in.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah" he sighed, gathering his things. "I just got a lot on my mind."

Mr. Syme set down his grading book and gave him a look. "You wanna talk about it?"  
They had begun multiple conversations like this since he turned in his report last year, but Ponyboy still found it hard opening up to him like that. He was outside of the gang and a key rule among the gang was to not "talk" to strangers.

He was about to break that rule again.

"How do you help people?"  
"...What do you mean?"  
"When something happens to someone. And you know they're not gonna be the same. How do you be there for them?"  
Mr. Syme continued to look at him and said "Well, you have to talk to them first. Get them used to talking to you. And then you get them to realize you're trying to help. And that they need it."  
Pony's shoulders slumped. "And if they dont want it?"  
"There's only so much you can do for a person. They have to want to be helped before you can help them."

"What if you're the only one that can help them? What if everyone else has already given up on them? Are you supposed to just drop them like everyone else did?"  
Mr. Syme blinked. "That's for you to decide. But the first, and only, thing you can do right now is talk to her. Them. That person."

Pony sighed and nodded, then rushed out of the room.

. . .

"Hi, I'm here to see Zoetta Parks."  
The nurse behind the desk flipped through her clipboard. "Are you immidiate family?"  
Ponyboy hesistated then said "Yes."  
She gave him a look then said "Name?"  
"Ponyboy Curtis."

"I'm sorry, but there's no instant relatives by that name. You'll have to come back later."

"But I promised I-"  
"I'm sorry, but those are the rules."  
He scowled and started to object when a phone rang. The lady sighed and said "Excuse me" before rushing across the room. "Hi. This is she."  
Pony looked around him and, seeing no one was looking, peered over the desk. "Zoetta Parks" he mouthed. "Room 203-J, West Wing, Childhood Cancer Ward." Quietly, he walked behind the desk and turned around the corner.

It took a little bit of wandering, and trying to block out the sounds of sadness and death-er, illness- but he eventually found the Childhood Cancer Ward. The kids there looked sad and miserable, but they always had someone with them. But one kid, he knew, would be all alone. This thought encouraged him to move faster.

Three minutes later, he stood in front of room 203-J. Another three minutes later, and he was still standing in that same position. This was Zoe. Hippie Zoe. Sure, she would be depressed, but she'd be happy to see him nontheless. And if she wasnt...well, he wouldnt be too happy about that, but he'd be all right. He'd come back later and they'd talk and work things out. Because she was Zoe. And she always bounced back. With those thoughts, he put a smile on his face and opened the door.

"Hey!"  
"Get out."  
"Okay."  
**Yeah, that ending's been in my head for months now.**


	13. Guess Who's Back? Back Again!

**You know that emoji? Yeah, the one with the ":o". And that other one? The one that's crying hysterically? Yeah? Get ready to type them in.**

They always say the first night is the hardest. Whether it's your first night prison, your first in your college dorm, your first night sleeping side by side with your spouse, or whatever, it's always the hardest. Because that's when reality sinks in that, _this is actually happening, and it's happening to ME! _It's like watching The Ten Commandments (the old, long one) in like ten seconds. Everything comes at you too quickly, and you have no idea what to do. Everything happens, or has happened, too quickly, and now that you've met the end, that point you've gone through hell for just to get there, you have no idea whatt you're supposed to do. And then you turn on your side, and see that keepsake from home, or that dipolma on the wall, or your new spouse, and you think, _nah, I've got this. Everything's gonna be fine. _Even though you know that fifty percent of prisoners never return home. Even though you know the college dropout rate is currently at an all time high of sixty three percent. Even though you know Even though you know that two out of three marriages end in divorce.

Because you have hope. Silly and undependable, yes, but strong, like the bald eagle. And you know that as long as you have that hope, in whatever form in may come in, you'll make it through the tough times.

Now whether you want that hope or not, that's your own damn problem, because you cant just expect that hope to die out like the dinosaurs. It will always be there. You may not know it, but it's there. Of course there are some stubborn people out there who wont accept it and may or may not kick you out of your hospital room before you've even had the chance to breathe and-

"Pony?"  
Ponyboy looked up just in time to stop the football from colliding with his face. Shaking just a little bit, he lowered the football and shook away the tangled web of thoughts. "Yeah?"  
Johnny walked closer to him, his eyes worried. "You okay?"  
"Um." He stared at the football as he tossed it from hand to hand. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. I'm... I'm good."

Johnny snatched the ball while it was midair and tucked it under his arm. He sat down on the asphalt and stared ahead at the setting sun. It was the Saturday after school started and the two boys had been out, just walking around, the second bell rang. They'd covered just about every square inch of their turf three times before heading over to the lot to play football. He did, however, notice that they had avoided one particular place.

"Have you gone to seen Zoe yet?"  
Ponyboy considered bolting, decided against it, and eventually joined his buddy on the ground. "Er, sort of. You?"  
He shrugged and threw the ball in the hair, watching it soar into the sky, before falling into his lap. "Tried to. The lady at the front desk didn't seem to like that idea, though."

A smile tugged at Pony's lips. If he and Johnny were anything alike, which they were, he knew that wasn't the end of the story. "What'd you do?"

Johnny returned the smile. "I saw her anyway."

His smile slowly began to slip off of his face. "Oh. Really?"  
"Yeah."  
"What... What'd she say?"

"Not much, seeing that she was either unconscious or delirious half the time."  
"And the other half?"  
"Still out of her mind."  
Pony laid back against the ground, his eyes blazing. So, she didn't want to see him, but she wanted to see Johnny? Which was kind of fair, he had to admit, because Johnny didn't constantly nag her or look at her like she was crazy all the time. But still. Boyfriends were supposed to come before best friends. "What'd she say?"  
"Not much. I'm not sure she knew who she was talking to, though."  
"Why?"  
"She kept calling me you."  
Ponyboy's heart did somersaults in his chest. He wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but he assumed it was a good thing. Maybe she wanted to See Him Again. He had to contain his excitement, though, once he realized Johnny seemed kind of bummed about this. As much as he hated acknowledging it, Johnny and Zoe were really close friends. And he wasn't about to stand by and watch her lose someone else.

"Well" he began. "I think she would have been happy if she had known it was you."

"Uh huh."  
"No, really. You're like a big brother to her."  
Johnny stared at a hole in his shoe. "She said that?"  
"Well...not technically, but she talks about you like that."

"...So are you gonna go see her?"

Pony froze in his tracks. Right back where they started. "No, not since the first time."  
"...Why?"  
"Because she doesn't want to see me right now."  
He scoffed. "It was her first day in, Pony."  
"Yeah, but she _asked_ me to come in that day."

"Well, you cant dwell on that. And I'm sure she wants you to come back."  
"What makes you think that?"  
"Cause she was asking for you yesterday. And saying she was sorry she was being an ass."  
He sighed and started to play with the buttons on his jacket. "And if she changes her mind again?"  
Johnny gave him a shrug. "That's for you to figure out."  
And with that, he crawled to his feet, and disappeared as the early colors of the night swallowed him whole.

Ah, good ole' Johnny. Saying so much in so little.

You sneaky little bastard.

. . .

Pony didn't risk sneaking into Zoe's room again. Somebody must have caught Johnny trespassing in Zoe's room or something because the lady at the front desk gave him the stink eye when he walked in. And then some guys walked in and stood guard behind the desk, in case he tried to pull anything. Seeing that he couldn't pull a James Bond, Pony put on the most innocent and non-suspicious look he could muster and walked up to the desk.

"Hi, ma'am" he said, smiling. "I'm here to see Zoetta Parks?"  
She glared at him over her glasses and said "Yes, I remember you. Did you bring your little friend, or are by yourself today."  
"It's just me. So can I see her."  
"As I told you before, entrance is only being granted to immediate family and close friends."  
"But I am a close friend" he argued. "_Really_ close."

"Well, our records don't have any records down for close friends."  
Ponyboy sighed and glanced behind the desk. Yep, still there. "Well, can I at least send her something? A letter, flowers?"  
The lady glanced into her files before pulling out Zoe's. She stared at it for a minute, her face showing signs of pity. "Her... sickness is very serious. As you should know."  
"I do."  
"Well, the doctors are very strict about what goes in and what goes out. I'll have a talk with them and see what I can do. In the meantime." She rose her pen and pointed it at the waiting room.

Shaking from anger, Pony stomped over to the depressingly blank room and plopped down beside a man who appeared to be distraught.

As time wove on, many people came and left. Some cried, some wailed and screamed, some laughed, some did all at once, and some just sat there with a blank expression. Not quite knowing what to feel. That last one fit Ponyboy perfectly.

It wasn't until he had waited for three hours, and a voice over the loudspeaker announced they'd be closer in thirty minutes, did that expression collapse. He leaned forward and held his head in his hands, struggling to hold back tears. And he stayed in that position, sniffling every few seconds, until someone cleared their throat. His eyes blurry, Pony looked up and found someone extending a hankerchief towards him.

"Here" a voice thick with emotion said.

Sitting up straighter, he accepted the cloth and wiped away the offending tears and tried to pull himself together. "Thanks" he murmured, bringing it down from his face. "I, um, appreciate the, um..." He trailed off and stared at the man. He appeared to be in his early twenties and had sad green eyes.

Pony could have sworn he'd seen him before.

The man gave him a look, and it was then he realized he was staring.

"Sorry" he said. "You just... you reminded me of somebody."

The man nodded and stuffed the hankerchief into his pocket before staring at the floor. "How come you're still here" he inquired. "You've been here for hours."  
Ponyboy shrugged and sniffled again. "So have you."  
He smiled softly. "My sister's in here."

"My friend's in here." He was going to say girlfriend, but stopped at the last second. He didn't like the idea of a complete stranger knowing he and Zoe were going out. Hell, he wasn't even used to the idea of people he _did_ know knowing about them. "She's sick."  
The man nodded. "My kid sis caught some kind of cancer, I think."  
Pony rose an eyebrow. "You_ think_?"

He sank back into his chair. "I don't see her much."  
Silence settled over them like a cloud. Slightly uncomfortable, but not overwhelming. "My friend has cancer" he offered. He seemed like the right thing to do, though he wasn't sure why.

The man laughed a mirthless laugh and replied "Small world, huh?"  
Pony gave a small smile. "Yeah." Then he gave the man another lookover. Olive skin, maple hair that was cut short and stopped just below his ears. Where had he seen him before? "Are you sure I haven't seen you before."  
He shrugged and said "Doubt it. I've never been in Oklahoma before. You must have me confused with someone else."  
"...Maybe." He turned his attention down to his watch. He had to be home in half an hour, and he was getting nervous. He had to see Zoe. He had to.

"Why are you still here" the man asked.

He could have blamed it on the lady, but something stopped him. This man was so easy to talk to. And it wasn't like he was ever going to see him again, right? So he told him the next best thing. The reason he had waited this long to return in the first place.

"Just worried things are gonna be different. That she'll be different." He started biting his fingernails. "Why are you still here" he asked, inwardly praying that that stupid lady at the desk had worked out a deal with Zoe's doctors.

"I told you."  
"Yeah, but why haven't you gone in yet? Immediate family can go in at any time, you know?"  
The man blinked slowly. "We didn't exactly separate in the best way. I guess I'm just thinking of what to say to her. How to make up for loss time."  
Pony leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes. "Well, what would you do? If you went in there?"  
"...Be there for her."

He turned to him. "What's your name, kid?"  
"Ponyboy."  
"Well, Ponyboy, let me tell you this. Your lady friend? She's gonna be just fine."  
"How do you know?"  
"Because she's got someone like you backing her up. And she sounds like a fighter. Fighters are stubborn. They wont let something like cancer get them down."  
Pony exhaled softly. "Well, I guess the same goes for you. For you to be scared to go talk to her, she must be pretty tough. She'll make it."

"What's your name?"

"...Kalvin. With a k." **(OH MY GAAAWWWWWDDDDD! NO, SHE DID NOT! But, yes, I did. I TOTALLY did.)**

Slowly, Pony looked up from the ground. Kalvin met his eyes and gave him a disturbed look. "What?"  
"Kalvin? _You're_ Kalvin?"  
The disturbed look turned into one of suspicion. "Yes..."  
"You're Zoe's brother?"  
He glared at him. "How do you know Zoe?"  
"_You're_ Kalvin!" he repeated.

"Who wants to know?"

Pony smiled wide. "Zoe's my friend" he said, bursting into a laughing fit. "My sick friend, is your sick sister. They're the same person!"  
Kalvin sat back in his chair.

"Small world, huh" Pony laughed.

Kalvin shook his head, trying not to smile. "Yeah."

**Crappy ending, I know, but writing Zoe's reaction was just too complicated. Putting it out there RIGHT NOW, the next chapter will be the LAST chapter!**

**And Haleymay, to answer your question, rhetorical or not, that ending was meant to draw a laugh out of you :). Glad to hear I accomplished THAT! **


	14. See You Again

_It's been a long day_

_Without you, my friend_

_But I'll tell you all about it_

_When I see you again_

_When I see you again_

Three months later ~

It was a peaceful morning. The house was silent aside from the wind blowing against the house. Ponyboy was snuggled up tightly underneath the blankets in his bedrooms. The house was freezing, but he had still found a way to keep warm. By curling himself into a ball and lying on his side, he had discovered he could find heat most effieciently. And it was quite comfortable. He could have spent the rest of his life in that wonderful, deep, rewarding sleep.

The fact that it was such a wonderful, deep, rewarding sleep should have set a bell off in his head. Usually, Soda would toss and turn all night and hog the covers, so the two would have to spend the whole night unconciously tugging the covers back and forward. The result would be a groggy and cranky Pony in the morning. However, Soda, to Pony's irratation, could do perfectly fine with or without sleep. He was like his own walking never-ending battery.

That never shared the blankets.

So Pony should have known something was up when he found himself completely comfortable and warm. But he didnt. Mainly because he wasnt awake yet. So he couldnt have noticed the two figures creeping into his room that morning. And he couldnt have noticed them crawling on either side of the mattress. And he couldnt have noticed them slowly leaning towards his ears. So, really, you couldnt blame him if he seemed a bit surprised when he was rudely woken from his sleep by a some morons lifting up his eyelids.

"Whaaaaatttttt" he complained groggily. "I'm tryna slee' ova' he'uh."  
The two figures began to giggle uncontrollably as they tried to bring Ponyboy into the land of the living.

"Hey, Ponyboy?  
"Pony?"  
"Ponyboy, you up yet?"  
"Pony, Pony, Pony."  
"Wake up, wake up, wake up."  
"Wake up ,Pony."  
"Hey, hey, Ponyboy?"  
Ponyboy groaned. "You're hurtin' meh eyes..."  
"Pony?"  
"What?"  
The two figures continued to giggle until Pony's eyes came into focus at the ceiling. But he didnt see anything.

"Pony?"  
He turned to his right. Soda.

"Ponyboy?"  
He turned to his left. Zoe.

"Yes?"  
They both let go of his eyelids, grabbed his ears, and screamed "MERRY CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN!"

Ponyboy gasped and hopped to his feet before finding the ground rushing towards him. He winced and braced himself for the impact that never came. Soda giggled some more and tossed him over his shoulder as he and Zoe dashed out of the room.  
"I should have known better" Pony muttered to himself, crossing his arms. And then he was being thrown on the couch. The whole gang was over.

"Hey, Pony" Johnny greeted.

"Hey, Johnny" he groaned, shutting his eyes.  
"Hey, you cant got to sleep. You dont wanna miss it again, do you?"  
Reculantly, Ponyboy sat up. "Miss what? And why is everyone up so early? It's like three in the morning."

"Actually, it's eleven o'nine" Soda spoke up, lying down on the floor in front of the T.V. Beside him, Zoe was in the same position. Once again, Ponyboy wondered how the universe didnt tear from the two being in the same room together.

"Zoe got a copy of _Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown_" Johnny explained, bringing his attention back.

"Well, that explains a lot." Then he frowned and sent his girlfriend a curious look. "And with what money?"  
She just gave Soda a look as the two fell into a laughing fit.

It was at that moment that Darry walked in, setting a giant bowl of popcorn on the table. He took one look a the two, shook his head, and sat down beside Pony.

"Did they wake you up, Pony" he asked.

"Havent you heard" he said sarcastically. "I'm Charlie Brown now."  
Darry rolled his eyes. "Nice to know I'm not the only one."  
It wasnt like they didnt want to see it as well, though. There had been a storm the night of it's original airing, which caused the power to go out. So the gang hadnt been able to see it. And now that they had it on tape, they were all excited to watch it. Namely Zoe, who hadnt had that much experience with cartoons in her life aside from the newpaper. For the entire twenty five minutes, and for the first time ever, she remained still. Her eyes crinkled with laugther, her eyebrows jumped in shock, and her lips twitched in confusion. And at the end, when all the Peanuts crowded around the newly transformed tree, Zoe turned to Pony. He rose an eyebrow but didnt say anything when she suddenly darted out of the door. He just crawled to his feet, stretched, and followed her.

. . .

That hadnt been the first time. It started shortly after she got out of the hospital. No, scratch that. It started, _once_ she got out of the hospital. After she had all her papers and medications and had talked to her doctors, Zoe slowly turned to Pony. He had been expecting a hug or for her to suddenly break down into tears. But instead, she had simply motioned her eyes towards the door then took off running. He hadnt known what to think then, but his legs had, because one second later, he had found them carrying him out the door. She had been a bit slower back then, again she had just gotten out of the hospital, so he had caught up with her pretty fast. But she didnt say anything. And so he didnt say anything. And so they didnt say anything together. So when they arrived at an abandoned building, Pony been very confused. Then Zoe took his hand and sat down on the dusty floor. "I spent my first night here" she'd whispered before launching into a story.

Since then, Zoe had run out the door many more times and taken him to many more places and told him many more stories. Most were about her and Kalvin, whom she now lived with. Some were about the Dogs. Some were about Her Time spent in That Place, with Those People. Some were simply made up stories, fairy tales. Some were about them, and what they would do. All of her stories, made up or true, now or then, sad or happy went into a leather Ponyboy started carrying around with them. (Zoe had wanted him to put some of his own stories in there, but he declined, reasoning he had a photo album at home full of their own stories, whereas she had nothing). Based on the amount of the information and stories in there, one could call it a book, Pony decided one day. But every book needs a name. But what to call it. Zoe had wanted to call it "A Bunch Of Random Non-Interesting Shit For the Eyes of Others", but he didnt like it. It sounded too flashy. He wanted to call it "Stories", but she didnt like it. It sounded too bland. Eventually, they settled for niether. As the two now stromped through the snow that Christmas morning, though, Ponyboy thought back to that conversation. And he was about to bring it up again when Zoe suddenly skidded to a halt.

"Where... are... we" Pony panted.

She just rolled her eyes. "A Christmas Tree Farm."  
"Isnt this, like, trespassing?"  
"Nope. It's abandoned. Now come on."  
"Wait, I-"  
"Come on!"  
Pony sighed and shook his head before struggling to catch up to her. Once again, he should have known something was fishy about this, but he was too busy trying to remember how to breathe in freezing weather to think about it. And then he saw it.

Not quite a "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" Christmas Tree, but Pony figured that's what she was going for. It was about twice his size and was decorated with tinsel and yellow lights and a shiny star on top. It looked imcomplete, like someone had forgotten to put on the ornaments at the last minute, but that just made him like it even more. Because it was imperfectly, but that was what made it so grand. It was perfectly imperfect. It was so... so...

"_Zoe_."

She turned to him. "Hm?"  
"That's the name. Of our book."  
Zoe placed her hands on her hips. "Seriously, that's what you're thinking of? You have absolutely nothing to say about this giant tree?"  
Ponyboy chuckled. "Well, that's how I got the name. I think of the tree, and I think of you. You're not perfect, you're actually the exact opposite of perfect. You're a hot mess."  
"Gee, thanks."  
"But that just makes you even more perfect. Your flaws are what make you you. You wouldnt be you if you were so messed up in the head."  
A blush spreading across her face, Zoe sniffled. "Aw, Pony. You really mean that?"  
He laughed again and wrapped his arms around her. The sudden impact, though, must have thrown her off because the two then found themselves in a snowbank.

Zoe poked her head above the snow and started laughing that insane laugh of hers. Ponyboy tried to resist it, but it was no use. He couldnt help but join in with her. And when he got the hiccups, that just made Zoe laugh even harder, tears streaming down her cheeks. And laughed even harder when he tried to dry them before they froze.

Would you believe they'd manage to get into even more strange situations?

**Alrighty, guys, that's it! Show's over! Much more could have been done with this story, but if I did that, it would have turned out to be crap. :/ Anyway, thank you guys for making this my most popular story! You guys rock! And, if you're intersted, check out my other stories! Seriously. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get reviews these days? :D**

**Special thanks to:**

**1Embrace The Crazy (awesome name)**

**Bookworm16723**

**Furry Vamp Fang**

**Haleymay**

**SunsetsInTheMaze**

**UnlimitedPriceless**

**allyna1**

**bookwriter123456**

**naruXmia135251**

**yolie841**

**Cutiepie205**

**Greaser Girl 73**

**fictionfangirl1**

**katelyn23441**

**Pony'sgirlfriend**

**And Aria( as my first reviewer for this story, I must say you are awesome. Make a profile!)**


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